June 6, 2018

I consider it a gift to live on a part of Planet Earth that has four definite seasons. The beauty of each one brings enjoyment, but they also provide reminders that our individual lives have seasons.

Springtime is filled with buds and babies, and then summer arrives with foliage that provides shade and gardens that promise harvest. The fall colors and crops never seem to last long enough, as winter will soon follow. For those who prefer sunshine and warmth, the grey of winter gets long. It is the hope of springtime that keeps us focused.

Life for humans is so much like the seasons of nature. The journey begins with birth and the early years when everything is new and changing. The summer season involves education, preparation for marriage and careers. We hope that our fall years will show the evidence of hard work and faithful maintaining of good decisions. And those senior years – winter seasons – can be ones of joyful fulfillment or dreaded anticipation, depending on circumstances and personal choices.

There is a key principle to making sure we have enjoyment during each season of life. As in nature, we cannot change the process, so we must develop a grateful attitude for each season – the ones we prefer and the ones that seem longer and sometimes painful. In our human life process, we can learn to make each year a new challenge and opportunity – making the most of each day. In doing so, we will come to the senior years still focused on the day and the year that we have.

People who make good use of today while keeping a view on the future tend to worry less about what may not be our preference for the current moment. The winter season is not my first choice – I like warm weather. But I am finding a lot of satisfaction in my winter season of life. So many things that used to concern me no longer matter. And having one more day is more precious to me now than it was when I was young.

Pastor Bill Ehmann