Seasons Change

In the Midwest or more specifically Northern Indiana for me, seasons are extremely defined. We go from 85° and sunny to 60° and changing leaves, to -10° and 2ft of snow, to 65° and rain showers. Summer, fall, winter, spring, repeat; it’s cyclical, the changing of seasons. And as I take in the warmer weather and the sunshine, I was reminded that just as seasons change ecologically, seasons in our personal life also change. Side tangent, what got me thinking about this was how my mood changed with the sunshine and warmer weather. This past weekend I went golfing with some buddies and it was only about 50° but the sun was shining and it almost tricked my mind into believing it was much warmer. It was awesome. It led me back to my appreciation for the climate of the Midwest, unlike Florida where theoretically we could golf every day. 

One thing I’ve grown to appreciate about the seasons is that it’s somewhat predictable. Though spring and summer may not start exactly when we want it to, we know it’s around the corner… eventually. See, there’s a defining commonality between that predictability to what we’re told about seasons in life. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” As I dove deeper into this passage, the following verses go on to list things like planting and uprooting, mourning and dancing, embrace, even give up, time to love, time for peace, the list goes on.

What I find so fascinating is that the emotions we feel, and experiences we go through were noted in the Bible thousands of years ago. We often get caught in a rut of frustration when we feel we’re going through a troublesome season. We tend to celebrate only the good times and lose sight of the light at the end of a tunnel in a dark time. But just like the ecological season’s change, so do the seasons we’re going through. So as I sit next to the open window, feeling the sun shining in, allowing the natural light to light up my apartment, I feel encouraged, empowered that just as spring has begun overtaking winter, I know that good times will follow the bad.

I want to highlight an important aspect of the verse above because I really think it’s powerful in the world we are in today. Ecclesiastes talks about there being a time for hate, and a time for war. But also a time for love and peace. I believe this is not encouraging hate or war but instead, it’s focusing on those moments when our responses to those situations can shift the season. When we look at division in the world or the pandemic, the media tends to only focus on the negative, so we tend to get caught up in that. But when we really look at the responses to those situations, that’s when we see the good coming out of it. There’s a saying that goes, “God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers.” And as Christians, we are soldiers in his Army. 

During the start of the pandemic, actor John Krasinski, most well known as Jim Halpert (for all you Office fans), started a “from home” news network called “Some Good News” or “SGN” for short. The goal was to find hero stories or positive messages coming from people all over the world, and he shared those on his social media. The goal was to spread positive responses to tough times and create an environment where we celebrated the coming together of people. Now I don’t know about you, but to me, that is an amazing representation of encouraging change and welcoming growth that helps aid people in pushing through a tough season to see a new season on the horizon. I can’t speak to John Krasinski’s faith, but regardless, he is a good person doing good and helping to portray good in the world. I think we can all take from that.

I mentioned earlier that seasonal change is somewhat predictable, and though seasons in life may be harder to see the turning point, I don’t necessarily know if we can speed up the season, but I believe we can make the most of the season we’re in and use it for growth and development. Take John Krasinski’ SGN, or the drive to connect with others from people during the pandemic. Those are examples of shifting their mindset to maximize their growth in the season they’re in. When we come out on the other side of change or adversity we are able to see that harder time as moments of growth, strength, and courage that we portray to fight through it. 

So I encourage you, get out in the sun. Feel the warmer air coming and let that create a mood shift in you. Environmental aspects can affect our bodies and minds in really powerful ways. Open yourself to that. Don’t dwell in the tough seasons of life, but instead use it as a season of work and of growth. Just as spring is around the corner, better days are ahead for each of us.

WORKOUT 

With warmer weather around for the Midwest this week, it’s impossible not to focus on the outdoors. For this week’s workout, we’re going to get out of the gym, out of our living rooms, and into the sunshine.

The workout this week is an outdoor activity. It can be a walk, a run, maybe for those lucky enough to live by trails, you can do a hike. Whatever it is, put away the winter coat, pull out the sunglasses and go soak in some sunshine and warmer weather.