Seasonal Change

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. (Eccelesiastes 3:1)

A year is divided into four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. There are seasons in life as well. Times of highs and lows, good and bad. Just like we can’t prevent the four seasons that make up a year, we cannot prevent the seasons in life. Just like we experience yearly seasons, we must experience life’s seasons. One difference between yearly seasons and life’s seasons is that yearly seasons occur when expected, while life’s season can spring up on us unexpectedly. One thing is certain though, seasons come and go.

King Solomon, son of King David, was considered the smartest person in the history of the world. He is the writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes. The book speaks a lot about things being meaningless and there being nothing new under the sun. In all this Solomon writes, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). This is followed by a list of different seasons experienced throughout life (vv. 2-8). Seasons change during the course of our life. Our experience today could be different than tomorrow, or a week, month, or year from now. Life is always changing, always presenting a new season. Looking back we can identify the different seasons we have gone through. Not all seasons are good, but all seasons shape us. They have the potential of changing the course of our lives, our society, our nation, and our world.

When a season ends, a new one begins. The end of something will always produce the beginning of something else. Change is hard, but it’s a fact of life. Change can be disruptive to our life, but it’s unavoidable. We can embrace change or fight against it, but we cannot stop it. There is a time for everything, and a time for every activity under the heavens. Bottom line, life happens. Who we have during the seasons of life matters. I am thankful that I have a loving and supporting family. A family that prays for me. I am thankful for my friends who provide support and encouragement. My wife who sees me struggle and still stands by me. But I am most thankful for Jesus, my Redeemer, my Savior. Jesus has been there through ugliness that few know about. The seasons that have been hidden from most. Jesus has been in every season I’ve experienced and will be by my side in those yet to come. Jesus is also in your seasons. You may not see or feel Him, but He’s there. Always present, knowing what we are going through and what we need. We can trust Him in every season in life.

Footprints in the Sand by Mary Stevenson

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?”

The Lord replied,
“The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you.”