Life and its seasons

I can't help it. Every spring I have to write something about this season. It just speaks to life in such real, vivid ways. To me, spring is a reminder. It's a live painting of hope and newness.

I'm one of those people. You know, the ones that say certain things that their family will remember for life. Not because it's necessarily profound, mostly because it's repeated so often. For instance, the other day our 16-year-old said, "Mom, you always say, 'We have beautiful lunchmeat in the refrigerator.'" Yes, I call our lunchmeat "beautiful." Every time. As if we have the Heidi Klum of sandwich fixings in our frig. Our kids will remember that. And every winter I say, "I have a hard time imagining leaves on these bare trees." Each winter it's hard to see spring through the hard, cold, snowy ground. It's a challenge to remember how green those trees are in the spring and summer. During the winter months, nature shakes its fist at the Ohioans that love and crave the sun like caffeine. Spring seems like a faraway dream.

Then it happens. New growth starts to wave its hand like a beauty queen. The trees start budding, the birds start singing, and the grass wakes up and shouts, "I'm green!" Our life gets surrounded with newness and color. The season changes and the sun shines.

I know why I love Ohio. Even though there are days in the winter when I feel blue or tired of the gray skies, I love living here because it parallels with life so very much. You and I know this: Life is a series of seasons. Some are like winter, cold and barren. Some are like spring, new and fresh. Summer is full of sunshine and the images of joy— shiny, beautiful and warm. And the winds of fall, full of change and mystery. I'm drawn to the similarities of these and our life, how they dance and make a music that beats like the big drum in the marching band.

The seasons prick me with hope and reminders. And just like with nature's seasons, life seasons bring the same feelings.

Here is how they look the same to me. In the winter I need to remember and live out faith. Even though I can't see green and a lot of bright life, I must practice my faith and believe that spring is there, underneath it all. Winter can feel like a wasteland, dead. I must choose to know that spring will come and the sun will shine again. And winter is not forever.

In the spring life is new and fresh. It's like a banner that waves that the cold months are over and fresh crops are being planted. My heart sings again for the crisp air and the days that are oozing goodness. It's like a song being played out with fresh plowed fields, budding trees, and planted pretty gardens. Spring says, "I'm back! Life is fresh, winter is over for a while."

Summer is full of bright, hot joy. Days spent in the sunshine, where life seems to have the windows rolled down and the suntan oil on. Life is good in the summer season. And in that season one may wonder, "was winter really all that bad?" A terrific season in life can cast a long shadow over the cold skies of winter. It's important to savor the summer season, because the truth is, it doesn't last forever. Fall is a time where the winds blow with wonder and mystery. There are times in our lives where the season feels like something is brewing, things are about to change - life may be different soon. This season is full of crisp change and harvest too. This is where the diligent work of other seasons pays off and we see the fruits of our labor and intentional habits. Whether we know it or not, fall is preparing us for the winter ahead. But right now, all I can see is spring.

Stik a Fork into hope, each changing season, and the newness of spring.