What is Your Season?

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

I write this with my mother in mind. Her hair has changed colors before my eyes. 

Like afterthoughts of an artist, lines have been etched upon her brow. Her arms are much weaker now and her gait much slower; but she is somehow warmer at life's winter age than she was in the summer days. All of life's tragedy has been wrestled to the mat and still she stands to attest to the authenticity of her goals, dreams and ambitions. What is wrong with hanging around the stage to collect an encore from a grateful audience whose lives have been touched by the beauty of your song? Just because the glare of summer doesn't beat upon your face doesn't mean that there is nothing left for you to do. Whose presence will stand as a witness that God will see you through? Who will care to catch a glimpse of your children run their race or catch them when they fall beneath the weight of their day? God never extends days beyond purpose. My daughters are in their springtime, my wife is in the middle of summer, and my mother is walking through autumn to step into winter. Together they form a chord of womanhood--three different notes creating a harmonious blend. To the reader, I would suggest: Enjoy every note.

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease (Genesis 8:22).

Our culture has celebrated youth to such a degree that we have isolated the elderly. The Hollywood mentality accentuates the dynamics of youth as though each season of life didn't have its own beauty. Anyone who observes nature will tell you that all seasons have their own advantages and disadvantages.