It's a warm spring day and as I sit on our porch with the sun shining on my face, ignoring the sounds of nearby traffic speeding along the highway just about 20 yards away. For the Joy I feel I might as well be on a tropical island. There are very few things that could make today feel better. It's amazing isn't it? The way the sunshine change your outlook on life? I am an Oregonian born and raised. I love it here, and I don't hate the rain, for the most part take it in stride. In the fall I welcome it with open arms even, but there's something about the middle of February that has me yearning for a warmer climate. Some wonder why we Oregonians don't just move somewhere warmer, like Southern California (and some do) but to be honest, I don't want the weather to be just slightly different versions of the same thing all the time. I love living somewhere that experiences all four seasons, in a rather mild way. Our summers can get pretty hot, our falls cooling down with a lovely show of changing colors and our winters are right around freezing with lots of clouds and rain, and occasionally a little snow. Then sometime in late February or March we start seeing the sun more and more and the flowers start shooting through the ground. Just as I am starting to lose my mind with the dreariness of it all Spring comes in to save the day. It's simply wonderful. This 70 degree breezy day would be nothing to me if I lived in San Diego, I wouldn't think anything of it, or might even complain of the wind if I hadn't just experienced the gloom of Winter. I can only imagine how magnified that feeling is for people who live much colder places that have "real" winters. It's amazing how positively sunshine seems effects everyone it touches. You go to the store and people are smiling and greeting you happily. People wait patiently while you cross the road and strangers wish you a good day as you pass them by on the sidewalk. Parks overflow with families who've been waiting for months for days such as these. Cats sun themselves on porches and dogs wag their tales as you pass. If it didn't happen every year it would seem nothing short of miraculous.
God sure did know what he was doing when he created seasons, and not just the physical ones. As much as we hate change and difficult times they really do help us to appreciate what we have and bring out hearts of gratitude as difficult seasons pass and more pleasant ones come around the bend. They help us to grow and challenge us to persevere. They give us opportunities for delayed gratification and spur on hope for what's to come. It's easy to feel excited about the coming more pleasant times but also important to recognize the good that happens in us during those dormant periods, both in physical seasons as well as personal seasons of hardship. It is necessary for the old to die away and the land to rest in winter. We can't see new growth without this pause. At a time when it looks as though nothing is happening, so much is going on beneath the surface. Deep down in the dormant places of our lives change is made and new life is forged. So if you're experiencing winter, either physically or emotionally/spiritually remember the importance of this season and put your Hope in the one who never fails us but promises that spring will come again. And if you, like me, are exalting in this new season don't forget to be grateful for the one we're quickly leaving behind. Contentment in all things. If I can live a life full of gratitude, contentment and love and faith, I believe I cannot lose.
