**some friday thoughts on seasons (on a monday to boot). another disclaimer: i don't usually like cheesy metaphors, but hang with me, this is real!**
this is my fifth winter of snow, my fifth calendar year with four distinct seasons. winter is hard...especially now that we are getting in to what i call "dirty winter." (dirty winter is when you have a nasty mixture of brown/black snow and ice along with trash, debris, salt, and a bunch of other junk..it's gross).
winter is hard, but i love living with seasons. just when you think you can't handle any more snow, spring comes and the cycle continues. here in new england i think we all wish spring and fall lasted a little longer, but there is something comforting and even spiritual about the natural rhythm produced by the changing seasons.
i kind of like that winter is hard. not to over spiritualize things but we go through difficult seasons...we have seasons of "dirty winter" that are just gross...or we go through times that are just challenging...we long for spring...for something new...for rebirth. this is not a new metaphor.
i have almost been on staff with Sojourn for two years. so far, it's been a great time, but a lot of it could be characterized as a winter season. we've spent a lot of time doing "winter" things...hidden things...under the radar things. things like simplifying and clarifying our language and process. and things like getting organized. and things like investing in a smaller number of leaders and students. frustrating things. things that don't always fit with the ideal of "growth."
but now we are in a spring season...lots of growth, energy, excitement, etc. and this is great. in fact, this semester has been the most fun for me so far.
as we continue to grow and work through the implications of "more" and the tension of remaining organic and relational, i know that there will be even harder "falls" and "winters" ahead. new challenges and new ways to experience the seasonal cycle.
but that's what seasons are all about: growth, life, enjoyment, struggle, death, rebirth. repeat. and repeat. and repeat again. success isn't about extending a spring or a summer indefinitely but about being faithful in each of the seasons with what each one requires.
and i like that. i like seasons.
3 comments:
I just read an awesome book on spiritual seasons. Spiritual Rhythm: Being With Jesus Every Season of Your Soul by Mark Buchanan.
Boot, good stuff. Vivid and real picture of the realities of lives lived as creations seeking restoration. Having experienced lots of "winter" lately, I appreciate the perspective of a coming spring.
Thank you, Steve!
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