Seasons

Life has so many seasons. Some are seasons shared by those of us in community with one another. Others are personal.

When my oldest was a baby, I entered a season of digital photography. I loved taking pictures of my baby girl and then doing anything and everything with those pictures. I started making photo calendars as Christmas presents, and that tradition is still going even now.

Yet I have moved out of my great digital photography season. The camera does not come out nearly as often. The file folders that once were so meticulously organized are now relatively unattended. Even though I still happily create the calendars, I do not spend hours on digital editing. I take a much simpler approach nowadays.

My writing walks through various seasons as well. Sometimes my journaling is long and daily. In other seasons, I do well to scrawl a few sentences several times a week. In some seasons my blogs stay much more active than in others. Sometimes my focus is more on family and what I learn through interactions with my children. Other times the thoughts come more from Scripture or from interactions with other people.

My reading interests go through seasons, as do my sewing desires. Sometimes I want to read nothing but historical fiction and sit at the sewing machine. In other seasons a parenting book and some knitting needles are more what I crave.

Those are all shallow examples, but I think you get the point. Seasons come and seasons go. Some repeat themselves while others come once and then are gone forever.

Something I’ve realized, though, is that the seasons are all important.

Years ago I was browsing on the website of a Christian rock band I enjoy. They had just released their long-awaited sophomore album, but I was seeking information from an earlier season. Instead, I found criticism of that old season. They called it immature and claimed that they had grown greatly since their first album.

Ironically, I enjoyed their first album much more than their second. It saddened me that they had not only moved on from that earlier season of life but had also rejected it as immature. They missed the reality of the foundation the first album gave them. They were overlooking the value of that season in their lives.

Fortunately, they later returned to that foundation and built upon it as they continued their career. As a fan of their music, I’m thankful for that return. But, I’m also thankful for their temporary distraction. Without that distraction, I never would have read their thoughts and been disturbed by them. Without that sense of disturbance, I might never have stopped to truly contemplate the value of all seasons. I, too, might have been quick to reject certain seasons of my life.

As I look back over the seasons of my life, I smile at some and blush over others. There are always things I feel I could have handled better. There are mistakes I’d rather not have made. But all of those seasons contribute to who I am today. They have had an impact on the relationships I enjoy with my Savior, my family, and all with whom I come in contact.

I am thankful for every season. May the same be said of yours.