Changing of the Seasons
I smile thinking about the recent piercing cold that has crept in. It is November here in Indiana. Fall had arrived and the beautiful weather that accompanied it with those cooler evenings and the cooler days, are always a pleasurable change after the hot days of summer. Now, arctic air is here and the cold is creeping into so many crevices and areas of this drafty, 102 year old home we own. There is much that a change of season gives us as a family to do. We should have pulled out those window air conditioners at least three weeks ago. My husband did that last night. Everyone is scrambling to find those thicker winter coats and this morning, I rotated those from the back of the deep closet to the front. My son brought up that plastic crate of gloves, hats and scarves from the basement and I organized those this morning. I still had a glove in there from when the boys were littler fella's. Just one. I reminisced about it with my husband and then threw it away. There is a lot of family history in that crate of winter goods. Snow pants that belonged to my daughter when she was a younger teen. Those soft hats that have the cut-outs for the mouth and eyes that my boys used to wear and make movies with. My son told me that he still has those movie clips. The leather hat lined in real fur that my husband saw at a local department store way back when we were dating and I bought it for him. Those gloves we both bought together before our move to Florida. They are a his/her matching set. His a little bigger in size than mine. I'm very thankful that I kept all these winter things. We had no idea then that we'd move back to our cold state where we both grew up.
Last night my husband and I traveled to the "big city" nearby to buy flannel sheets for all the beds, fleece blankets and a fleecy cover for the futon-couch downstairs. It was so cold as we hopped from store to store. The cold seeped through my thin pants and I shivered remembering years upon years of this kind of feeling in the cold winter months.
Our cars need extra care and work to be ready for the months ahead. Ice-scrapers put into each one of them. Specific liquids in the gas tank so the lines don't freeze. Special anti-freeze and making sure the liquid is topped off. New tires on my van because I had made our last set go as long as I could before they just had to be changed.
There is the reminding of my teenager to wear warmer clothes and a warm coat for school. Most of the time, teenagers like to prioritize fashion over warmth.
The last cutting of the grass that has been neglected in the last few weeks. The pulling out of space heaters from the upstairs closet to warm bedrooms that have no heat except what floats up there from the huge cast-iron radiators downstairs.
So much preparation goes into changing seasons.
And I am thankful for these myriad of things we get to do to prepare for them. Life would be a little more dull without them. We lived in Florida and there weren't these extreme changes to deal with. And I missed them. I missed the family's involvement in doing life and pulling together for the preparation of the cold and snow. I missed raking those leaves that fall and picking up all those sticks from the tall maple and oak trees in the spring. I missed the need for a coffee bar complete with hot cocoa, chai and tea for the family to have hot drinks to warm their insides on these cold days.
Interesting what you once thought was such a hassle until you leave to a different climate and found that the hassle was truly a magical time of togetherness and things to do. Always that sweet contrast to help us appreciate what we had. Contrast is good for a wider world-view. I have a deeper appreciation for contrast. I have experienced contrast and found it to make me a better person. In fact, God brought people in my life who are completely different from me and helped me see things from different points of view that made me a healthier person. I love that! God sure knows what he is doing. These contrasting seasons are valuable as well. The changing from fall to winter, winter to spring, spring to summer and summer to fall. And also the seasons of life we find ourselves in. There are seasons of spiritual change that God allows and sometimes we want to cling to the old season because it was comfortable and it worked for past generations. But God is allowing us to experience new seasons where what once worked doesn't anymore. And it helps us to ask Him for direction and guidance and how to prepare. When we listen to His heartbeat for the season we are in right now as His people, we will hear what He is saying by what once was effective not being effective anymore. Like this change from fall to winter air. Those short-sleeved shirts and thinner jackets don't work to keep the cold away. So we have to make a complete change so we are ready.
What are you hearing in this new season?
Last night my husband and I traveled to the "big city" nearby to buy flannel sheets for all the beds, fleece blankets and a fleecy cover for the futon-couch downstairs. It was so cold as we hopped from store to store. The cold seeped through my thin pants and I shivered remembering years upon years of this kind of feeling in the cold winter months.
Our cars need extra care and work to be ready for the months ahead. Ice-scrapers put into each one of them. Specific liquids in the gas tank so the lines don't freeze. Special anti-freeze and making sure the liquid is topped off. New tires on my van because I had made our last set go as long as I could before they just had to be changed.
There is the reminding of my teenager to wear warmer clothes and a warm coat for school. Most of the time, teenagers like to prioritize fashion over warmth.
The last cutting of the grass that has been neglected in the last few weeks. The pulling out of space heaters from the upstairs closet to warm bedrooms that have no heat except what floats up there from the huge cast-iron radiators downstairs.
So much preparation goes into changing seasons.
And I am thankful for these myriad of things we get to do to prepare for them. Life would be a little more dull without them. We lived in Florida and there weren't these extreme changes to deal with. And I missed them. I missed the family's involvement in doing life and pulling together for the preparation of the cold and snow. I missed raking those leaves that fall and picking up all those sticks from the tall maple and oak trees in the spring. I missed the need for a coffee bar complete with hot cocoa, chai and tea for the family to have hot drinks to warm their insides on these cold days.
Interesting what you once thought was such a hassle until you leave to a different climate and found that the hassle was truly a magical time of togetherness and things to do. Always that sweet contrast to help us appreciate what we had. Contrast is good for a wider world-view. I have a deeper appreciation for contrast. I have experienced contrast and found it to make me a better person. In fact, God brought people in my life who are completely different from me and helped me see things from different points of view that made me a healthier person. I love that! God sure knows what he is doing. These contrasting seasons are valuable as well. The changing from fall to winter, winter to spring, spring to summer and summer to fall. And also the seasons of life we find ourselves in. There are seasons of spiritual change that God allows and sometimes we want to cling to the old season because it was comfortable and it worked for past generations. But God is allowing us to experience new seasons where what once worked doesn't anymore. And it helps us to ask Him for direction and guidance and how to prepare. When we listen to His heartbeat for the season we are in right now as His people, we will hear what He is saying by what once was effective not being effective anymore. Like this change from fall to winter air. Those short-sleeved shirts and thinner jackets don't work to keep the cold away. So we have to make a complete change so we are ready.
What are you hearing in this new season?
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