Weary of Winter Weather?

By Lori D'Augostine

What is your favorite season? I've always been a huge fan of spring. There is nothing like the solace of spring time after three long months of winter solstice. Crisp air, fresh lemonade, dancing daffodils, baseball games, Easter eggs, and ... snow?

Easter and snow?

"Maybe Santa should have paid another visit and given the bunny a break this year," I said to my brother in a sarcastic tone one Easter morn.

His unresponsiveness bothered me. How could he not be annoyed by frigid temperatures and big cotton balls falling from the sky?

Then it dawned upon me -- I was way weary of winter weather. In fact, I was boycotting the stubborn season and had long since refused to wake up early to scrape the frost from my car. It was capri pants, short sleeve shirts, and over-sized sunglasses for me... (in my dreams).

Reality bites and so does winter. It is not uncommon for the east coast to experience winter and spring weather patterns just days apart. It may seem contradictory but not completely illogical.

Transitions often seem confusing and unrelentingly slow, but they are opportune times to grow in faith. To have faith, according to God's Word is to trust in things that you cannot see. Be assured, there is a new season for you just around the corner. God is just as consistent with his seasonal patterns as He is with our lives. Regardless of what you do or don't do, spring will happen. Nature depends on it.

With the end of the school year approaching, some may be considering a new job, a new relationship, or a new hobby. Spring often delivers with it a longing for new things. God is aware of our desire for restoration and ordained the changing of seasons.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1 we read,

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."

This well-known passage clearly identifies the seasons we will face on this earth. They are not limited to four but include a variety of the following: birth, death, implanting, uprooting, killing, healing, tearing down, rebuilding, weeping, laughing, mourning, dancing, scattering, gathering, embracing, refraining, searching, giving up, keeping, throwing away, tearing, mending, silencing, speaking, loving, hating, making war, and maintaining peace.

Can you identify which season you are in? You may be in many different seasons at one time. You may have been in one season for a very long time and wish you could transition out of it. Whatever your lot, be thankful!

The passage in Ecclesiastes bring hope:

"Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can."

Solomon claimed to have unlocked the secrets to meaningful life on earth. No matter which season you are in, there is purpose, and I will dare say, you can be "happy." Did you notice that death, killing, weeping, giving up, tearing, hating, and making war are amongst Solomon's top 28? How can such painful things be meaningful?

It's the same reason why spring follows winter. There are areas of our lives that must experience complete death in order to experience the full life God desires of us. Life and death are not mutually exlusive. The ashes of death will always bring forth the promise of a beautiful life. The equation can be written as follows: Death + Life = Beautiful.

The good news is God who created all, knows the best combination of Ecclesiastes 3 for you (eg: tearing + mending; scattering + weeping + loving). Since He knows all and sees all, you'd do well to trust His grand scheme. Be assured ... spring is on the way!

"Look, the winter is past, and the rains are over and gone. The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air. (Song of Solomon 2:11-12, NLT)"