[notice] A fortnightly column by Anna Heydenrych.[/notice]
It has been getting a bit colder recently. The few deciduous trees that we have around here are shedding their golden leaves. The season is changing. Some people I know are not ready to wave goodbye to the glorious summer months. I however, being nearly 6 months pregnant, am quite ready to welcome in the coolness of winter.
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Whatever your thoughts on the coming change of season might be, one thing is certain, the change will come regardless of what you think of it. This is true for the seasonal changes that affect our weather owing to the rotation of the earth, and it is true for the seasons that we pass through during our lives. The type of seasons Solomon refers to in Ecclesiastes…
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“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; …
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
I won’t try too hard to delve into the theology behind this poetic collection of verses, but for now I just want to consider them at face value. Seasons for different things will come and go, and this is okay.
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Solomon depicts an ebb and flow of seasons both good and bad. We are ready and willing to embrace the good ones – the births, the laughing, the dancing and embracing. But the bad ones can sometimes scare us a bit – the deaths, the killing, the weeping and the mourning. However, we cannot deny that while we live on this earth, bad seasons are inevitable and are beyond our control. Let’s take comfort in two things.
The ebb and flow
When we are in a bad season we can have hope that things will change. As we look back over our lives we can identify different seasons. If you are in a bad season right now, it might be difficult to believe that the season was ever good or ever will be good again. During the coldest winter night, have you ever tried to imagine what it is like to be hot and feel the sun on your skin – I have tried to do this and have found that I almost have a sense that summer never was. This of course is not true – summer was and summer will be again.
The worst is not that bad when God is in control
As Christians we can face the worst, even death because we believe in resurrection and eternal life. So even though we are sure to face things beyond our control, we live in the assurance of salvation no matter what season we are in.
