Changing Seasons

Although some may think otherwise, one of the blessings of living in North Dakota is the changing seasons.  With each new season comes the promise of the next to follow.  There is a unique kind of beauty in each season as it comes and goes, and the cycle of new life, growth, and dying off repeats itself year after year.  There is even a promise in God's Word which reminds us of the continuity of this cycle:

As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,

summer and winter, day and night

will never cease.

~Genesis 8:22

 

This past week the weather has been reminding us it won't be long until the season of cold and winter returns.  The days are getting shorter, the temperatures cooler, and the changing colors of the fall leaves are found more often on the ground than in the trees.  I came across this colorful display on a small tree sprout in an area we had cleared earlier this year. 

 

 

Most of yesterday afternoon was spent outdoors.  The flower pots, which had provided me with bursts of color throughout the summer months, were now in need of emptying.  Several nights of freezing temperatures had put an end to the life cycle of the flowers, and it was time to store the pots away until spring.

 

In the process, I did come across a few remaining bright spots.  Why they had escaped their demise, I'm not sure.  Maybe, because of their location, they were more protected from the cold.  Or perhaps they were extra hardy plants able to defend themselves for a bit longer.  At any rate, they made me smile!

 

As I went through the garden plot to clear what was left, I came across two more surprises.  A few sprigs of late lettuce were poking their way through the dirt, and in the midst of the corn stocks I found two little cobs to enjoy for supper.





 

Yes, the seasons are changing.  In a similar way, as God's children, we face our own seasons of life.  According to Acts 17:26, God establishes for each of us a time and exact place in which we will live.  Through the process of birth, He plants us somewhere, then encourages us to grow.  You may have heard the expression, "Bloom where you are planted."  If we read on into verse 27, we find God has a reasoning behind creating a special time and place for us. . .He wants us to seek Him, reach out for Him, and find Him.  And what a blessing to be reminded He is not far from each one of us.

 

In each North Dakota year we are promised 365 days.  None of us, however, know the number of days in our unique time span.  The seeking process God asks of us will lead us to an understanding He is with us through all of life's seasons.  And even when we face the dreaded winter season of death, He is waiting to welcome us to a new season. . .eternity!