Reflections

I have always appreciated living in places where the seasons are distinct; where winter days are short and more often than not we have a white Christmas. Spring leaves are bright green and the rain washes away the snow mounds on the side of the road. Summer means going out and about without a jacket and dinner time ends up being closer to 8 p.m. than 6 p.m. And then the colors of fall make the dying of nature’s foliage rather beautiful.

When God created the heavens and earth God made the lights in the sky, sun and moon and stars, to guide us through days and seasons and years (Genesis 1.14). God gave us order and structure and predictability in the created world as a gift.

We also experience other seasons in our lives besides those found in nature. Infancy, adolescence, parenting, empty-nest and retirement are common. Sometimes what seems predictable, expected, or normal is disrupted and we are thrown off track.

This week two friends who were in their early fifties—like me—died. That was unexpected. Friends I thought would live here forever are moving. People get troubling diagnoses and all kinds of other events throw us for a loop, and the season we thought we were in has suddenly changed.

But when I look outside, it is still September and the leaves are changing just as they should. The days are getting shorter and the air is crisper than a month ago. In the midst of these things that interrupt the rhythm of life the seasons of nature remind us that God remains constant and faithful to us. So we live in the season we are in trusting in God’s promises to see us through it if it is challenging and rejoicing when all seems right with our world.

Lynne Ogren

Intern Pastor, Island of Faith Lutheran