Seasons

Spring arrived this week, and in our home it is SO welcome.

When the seasons change, I always think of Ecclesiastes 3. You might remember part of it from an old Byrds song. I like how The Message translation says it:

There’s a Right Time for Everything

3 There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

^2-8 A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

^9-13 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift.

¹⁴ I’ve also concluded that whatever God does, that’s the way it’s going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God’s done it and that’s it. That’s so we’ll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.

¹⁵ Whatever was, is.
Whatever will be, is.
That’s how it always is with God.

Change is hard for some. I like it, most of the time.

The season of full time work ended for me last year. I “retired” from my full time job. Not everybody gets to do that. Not everybody should do that. But for me, I just knew it was time for the next season.

Thanks to a great team and a wonderful board of directors, the transition between seasons was carefully planned and executed over an extended period of time. The Bridge, a non-profit ministry, is strong and growing in ways it would not have, had I stayed.

It was the most fulfilling job I had ever had, and part of me felt like a fool for giving it up. But inside, I knew it was time. Time for me, and time for The Bridge. I had seen other people outlive their welcome. Stay too long.

You’ve probably seen it with TV shows. If you are a fan of The Office, you know what I mean.

Deep down, I knew it was time so I exited stage left.

This new season has been fantastic. A new slower pace. Time to think and breathe, and do some things I never had time for. I’m exploring some new things, and somehow I seem to keep doing little video projects here and there.

I’m also aware that with Mary turning 17 this week, that incredible season of our life is going to be changing in a year or so. Not sure I am ready for that one, to be honest.

Sometimes seasons change abruptly.

Sometimes, though, they are gradual, and ease into place.

I think the internal changes happen that way. It’s a process. Part of growing. I heard Rob Bell on a podcast talk about how he is different today than he was just a few years ago, and he referred to his younger self as “7 Rob’s ago.”

I like that a lot. If you are exactly the same person you were 10 years ago, that makes me sad for you. You have probably missed a lot of chances to learn and grow and be stretched.

George Santayana said, “To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with Spring.”

I love Spring, just as I loved being a broadcaster. But I’m interested now in seeing what God shows me next.