The Seasons Change…

Do we change with the seasons?

Or do you believe we have our own Seasons of Change?

I think we do both of these.

I believe as the seasons change, we have the opportunity to change with the season.  The seasons change depending on which side of the earth is facing the sun. 

There are places that don’t have very much change from season to season, and some places that have more; some colder, some hotter, some wetter, and some more dry. 

I’m fortunate to live in rural Western Arkansas where we have four full, yet fairly mild, seasons, and I appreciate watching and feeling the changes of the seasons.

The spring is so bright and beautiful, with trees and plants blooming everywhere giving us colorful beauty, and seems like just a “fresh breath”.  Seems like spring can bring with it a new lease on life—new goals, a new vision.  New hope. 

It seems like a peaceful time for opening up to new possibilities, as the plants and trees have new leaves, new buds, and the birds… it’s like they are singing such cheerful songs for us.

Spring is a time to prepare the ground and plant seeds if you plan to grow a garden of any kind.  Again, the beginning of new growth.  Hope in what’s coming.

Summer gets pretty hot here, especially late summer when it brings humidity with the heat.  This season is a season of growing, doing, working, producing.  Porches are great for this area, helping you enjoy the summer heat.  We have a front porch facing the North, and shaded a little bit from the afternoon sun in the West.  It lends itself to a cooler spot in the very hot summer, and if it’s still too warm, we just set up a fan there. 

If the morning is cool, we have a back deck to enjoy the early sun.  It’s good to be able to be outside and be able to figure out how to be comfortable without spending all our time indoors in “conditioned” air.

Summer’s also a time of fun outdoors—swimming, backyard cookouts, camping, and all kinds of other outdoor fun things.

Fall is usually beautiful here, a great time to take a drive through the mountains to see the wonders of the sights and colors.  Just south of here there is a meeting place of the Christian Motorcycle Association, and about 2,000 cyclists come here every year at this time to enjoy it. 

They travel the winding mountain highways, and call their trek at this time of year, “The Changing of the Colors”, with a parade from their headquarters through our little town.

We also have lots of tourists from all over, who enjoy the fall beauty and weather here.

Fall is my favorite time of year.  The trees put out bursts of color as their leaves change from summer green, to the different colors based on what type of trees and shrubs they are.  Their vibrancy is dependent on so many things—temperature, timing of rainfall, frost (or not), wind and storms, etc.

Fall is also a good time to sit outside with friends and family by a bonfire or just a small fire in a fire ring in your back yard, enjoying the outside.

It’s also a time to be getting ready for the cold of winter.  We don’t have much snow, but we do have some, and have some ice from time to time.  It doesn’t get down to zeroº very often, but it does happen occasionally.

We have cattle, so we need to make sure we’re ready for whatever the weather brings.  Warm (and weather-proof) clothes, warm and weather-proof gloves, ways to keep equipment working and ready to use in the cold, etc.  Making sure we have wood if we plan to use wood heat.  Making sure outside water hydrants are ready for winter.

Then… there’s the winter.

I love the seasons, and I love the season for winter holidays.  But this season is my least favorite.  But it’s an important season.  The growing things go dormant (sometimes I feel dormant in the winter 😊 too.)

But I do love the coziness of a fire, inside or outside.  I like the snow, because we rarely have much accumulation (which closes schools and businesses here), and it’s beautiful and calming as it is coming down.  And I love the warming, winter foods.  Soups, Chili, Beans with Cornbread, and all the holiday food.

Then, as I’m getting a bit tired of “the cold”, here come those robins, chirping their cheerful song that spring is coming!  Ready for New-ness Again!

So what does all that have to do with life, and health?

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We have seasons in our lives: seasons of growing, of fun and playing, of learning, of happiness, of grieving, of loss, and of gain.  All sorts of changes in our lives. 

When the harder seasons come through our lives, I think it’s better for us if we can face and accept what comes, and just keep putting one foot in front of the other.  All the while, figuring how we can make the best we possibly can of it. 

If we ask “why” in the hard times, it’s just like asking why the seasons change before its time —when we weren’t ready.  If we have no control of the happenings in this season, it’s in the control of a higher power than us, and “why” can’t help us understand it.  Instead of resisting it, it’s better (not easier) to accept it the best we can, until we can adjust.

(I know, in really, really hard circumstances, this is almost too tall of an order.  The principle is still the same, but it’s sometimes extremely hard to accept things that feel totally unfair.  But with faith in our Higher Power, and trust in our own strength because of that Higher Power, we can do it.)

Also during these harder seasons, it can be a growing time (without us even knowing we are growing, since what we may actually feel is sadness or overwhelm, or despair.)

But when things like that happen in our lives… just maybe it’s God showing us, It’s Time for a Change.  Not necessarily the change we want… but if it depends on us, we probably never would make that change.  We’re stronger than we think we are.  Sometimes we do need to call on extra strength and courage, but we can do it. 

Sometimes we need to “shed the old”; maybe become “dormant” for awhile.  Then when it’s time, let the new unfold, and open up to it.  Let life show you what the newness can look like, and feel like… and who you’ll be, when it’s time.

When the easier seasons come, I think it’s best if we can be thankful and appreciate to our utmost, the ease or enjoyment, love, and all the good things we can.  And what special, special memories we will have!

There will be times when we “need more rain” or more nourishment from people.  Or more “sunshine” from people.  If people step up, appreciate them.  If they don’t, you can do it anyway.

In both of these instances, there can be people who support us, who we can feel appreciation for.  If you don’t have those people, just reach your hand up to God and ask Him to hold onto you.  He will.

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 And another slant on Change is:

We do have the power to change certain seasons for our lives.

There are the big things we can’t control.  But we can still make changes that will affect out lives.  We can build our lives.

It’s up to us to come up with a Vision for how we want out life to be.  And step toward that.

We can get so used to saying,

That’s too much;

I don’t have time;

I don’t have the strength;

I don’t have the money;

I don’t have the knowledge; skills; or simply,

I just can’t…

All Leaving the door wide open for feeling sorry for ourselves.  And helping us “know” we truly CAN NOT do the thing…

Well, if you really want to change— maybe it would help if you instead thought of the numerous things you can do.  Just maybe it’s your mindset that’s holding you back from what you want.

We can learn… we can build… we can flourish… in every season. 

Will there be obstacles?  Yes, for sure.  Some of them will be overwhelming.  But Build up your Hope—your Faith—and set your sights on what you truly want.

Then Make Some Changes.

Set your life on the course you want—small steps maybe—but in the direction you want.  You may be surprised what can happen.

We can believe “things are the way they are” or we can change and shape our minds to reach our goals.  Believe in yourself.  Imagine what might be possible.

Have courage; have hope; have faith.  Build those things up.  Then step out. 

Live your life.  Enjoy it.  Appreciate it.  Love it.  Do it.

Thank you for reading.

Sharon