Seasons!

"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease."

Genesis 8:22

I've been to Hawaii and St. Thomas, Bermuda and sunny California, but despite their excellent climates, it would be hard for me to live in any of these beautiful places. I love seasonal change. There’s a rhythm to it that is exciting to me on the one hand and calming on the other. I find the predictability of winter, spring, summer and fall reassuring as they make their appearances year after year.

Right now I’m enjoying the final blooms of summer while at the same time soaking in the spicy smell of fallen leaves and the sound of acorns crunching underfoot when I take my walks. I like the nip in the evening air and getting my sweaters and jeans out of the closet. One thing my family knows to expect is a change in décor around the house. I like to vary the wreath on the front door from season to season, change the table centerpieces and front hall decorations. Currently, Geraniums on the front porch are giving way to pumpkins and mums, and the October oranges, browns and golds are brightening the tables and countertops. My grandkids love and notice the changes from month to month and, like my children, have come to expect it. It’s extra special when the kids are here to help get the seasonal decorations out. Part of the fun is working together, making a memory, and enjoying the feelings that tumble out of the boxes along with the pumpkins, gourds, mums and autumn leaves.

Likewise, I enjoy the ebb and flow of life. Day and night, the busy weekdays and more relaxed weekends, long summer days that provide more time outdoors and shorter winter days calling the family home for a cozy evening together. I like loud silly times with my grandkids and quiet times reading together. It’s these contrasts that help me appreciate or yearn for the other. Very much like yearning for the warm spring air at the end of a snowy winter.

I have also learned to recognize and appreciate some of the different seasons in life. There are seasons from the past I’d love to do all over again. There are difficult seasons that, despite the challenges, taught me a lot and shaped and reshaped who I am. There is the season I’m in now, where I’m more comfortable with who I am, and less comfortable in my aging body. God willing, there are new seasons ahead, lots of moments that will matter, but still the future is the great unknown. The seasons of life don’t always make me feel as grounded as the yearly changes to the earth do. Maybe that’s why I appreciate the predictable rhythm, that underlying current of familiarity when I breathe in the crisper fall air and revel in gold trees and orange pumpkins each fall. So, today as I crunch through the fallen leaves during my walk, I’ll be appreciating the Lord’s handiwork around me and in me, and I’ll be thankful for all the seasons He has provided.

Each season carries with it lots of opportunities to make memories and moments that matter. How do you mark the seasons in your home and life?

Our front door in autumn

living room pumpkin arrangement

On the family room hearth

Kitchen table golds and oranges

I love to have seasonal books for my grandkids and I to enjoy!!! More on that in a later blog!

Candle bowl, one of my favorite seasonal changes!

Our front hall dove sculptured basket.