Seasons

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We all go through different phases in our life. We begin as babies, move up to adolescents, and ultimately make it to adulthood.  Within each of these different phases of life, there are also different seasons that each of us go through.  Some of these seasons are sunny and warm, and others are like the winter we are having here in Maine this year, cold, piles and piles of snow, and no let up in sight.  There is however, a time for each season of our life, and we need to accept these seasons and learn, or as the picture says, accept the gift that each season has for us.

Most every person I know has a favorite season during the year.  Some like Spring, as it is a time of new life and growth.  Others like the hot summer, if only to forget about the cold, cold winter that just happened, and will happen again in only a few short months.  I for one love fall.  I love the changing colors, the crispness in the air, and of course the New England Patriots.  Sorry, just had to throw that in there.  No matter what season is your favorite there are reasons you prefer one season over the other.  It would be great if we could freeze either time or weather patterns, and just lock ourselves into the one season we like most.  We all know that this is not an option, but we should also realize that the seasons we go through in life, even if we are not thrilled to have them thrust upon us, are things that we need, and from them will come knowledge and wisdom.

I have been through many difficult seasons in my life, but I would not trade any of them, for they have brought me to the place that I am in right now, doing the things I am doing right now.  It's not always easy to see the good in the seasons we go through, but they do serve a purpose.

I was walking out of my house yesterday to run a few errands and as I was going down the front steps I felt that drop of melting ice run down my neck.  I hate that more than anything and I just stood there wishing that winter was over.  I despise the cold, but at the same time I realize that it is a necessary evil.  As I got into my car to head out I began to think about what each changing season meant.  Each season does bring about change, change that needs to come at certain times to continue the life process of this planet.  I began to see more clearly that the seasons we go through are also there to help us with our own life process, and without these changes in season then sooner or later things would come to a screeching halt.

Now it's impossible to pinpoint when each season begins or ends.  I know that it began to get cold here in Maine toward the latter part of November, but the exact date escapes me.  I know that I have been through many periods in my life that have been there to teach me something, but I can't give you a date as to when those lessons began or ended.  The dates are not what is important, but rather the knowledge that you are going from one season to the next.  With each successive season we leave one phase of life and enter another one.  If you think that the time will come when you no longer have to deal with the changing seasons in life, then you are mistaken.  I am looking forward to spring, and we all need to look forward to the changing seasons in each of our lives.  If you are able to gain knowledge and wisdom from the changing seasons, then that should be your motivation to accept the changing seasons you will go through.

The question most people ask is why.  Why am I going through what I am going through?  Why can't things just be normal for a while?  So I guess that leads me to this question, what is normal?  Is it normal to have piles of snow in my front yard that are nine feet tall?  I mean in the last ten years we have never had this, but does that make it an abnormal winter here in Maine?  It is what it is, and what you are going through right now is what it is.  Find the lesson, the knowledge, the wisdom, for these are truly gifts.  Certainly it may not seem like a gift when that drop of water falls down my neckline, but it just proves that the temperature is changing, and soon the nine feet of snow will melt away and once again I will see grass.

Seasons are here to get you to the point or place you need to be in.  They may not always be pleasant, but there is a purpose, and with purpose comes resolve, and with resolve comes change.  Given the option to move from winter to spring, or to stay in winter, what do you think I am going to choose?  Going from one season in your life to the next is your choice.  You can choose to stay right where you are at, but if you do that, you are making a monumental mistake.  Even if the season you are in right now is not of your choosing, you can choose to accept the wisdom that will come from it.  I did not choose for there to be so much snow here this year, but I can look forward to the spring all that much more each time I see the piles in my front yard.

Embrace the changing seasons in your life and accept the fact that because you are going through them you are gaining invaluable knowledge and experience for things that may not have been revealed to you yet, but that are on the horizon.  Sometimes we are not given the entire picture of our life for fear that you will run away from things.  The seasons we go through are there to prepare you for what lies ahead.  Accept these seasons and embrace what will come after they depart.  Don't be afraid, we all go through these times, and with each new season comes newness of life.

Embrace the changing seasons and know that only good will come from them.  I know that spring is right around the corner and then this winter will be just a memory.