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The Time has Come . . . Again
by Jerry Ousley It is spring. I know, not just because it says so on the calendar but because the trees have leaved out, the birds are singing, the frogs are croaking, and . . . the grass is growing. Yes, it's time to tune up the mowers, fill them with gas and oil and begin the trek over the lawn, back and forth until you have walked over every part of your yard. Some of us have yards large enough to warrant owning a riding mower that takes much of the time out of the job, as well as all the walking but usually results in more weed eating. Ah, the wonderful joys of this time of year. It is possible to have a day during which all four seasons present themselves. It can snow in the morning, rain in the afternoon, and make us put on our shorts by evening. It's kind of like breaking summer in a little at a time. Then the day comes when summer is full-blown and with it comes the humidity and heat. During the winter we have longed for the summer when we can get out into the yard, sit at the picnic table and enjoy the sunshine. But we forgot again didn't we? We forgot how that late last summer we had longed for cooler weather and a break from that weekly mowing job. And just like we wished, it came. The fall fell and soon those first beautiful flakes were floating down from the sky. How wonderful they looked until we got up the next morning and had to scrap it off the windows of our vehicle at 6:00 AM and fight the icy roads so we could get to work on time. It only took a couple of days of that and we were once again wishing for the "good ole' summer-time." Wouldn't it be nice if we could have the best of all the seasons year round? It would never rain and the grass would only grow an inch and a half tall, never requiring mowing. The sun would always shine but the temperature would never get above 75 degrees unless we planned to go swimming. Then the temperature would rise to about 90 degrees so the water would feel like a refreshing rain on the Sahara. The leaves would fall off the trees to make room for new ones but they would all fall in one day and a great wind would come and send them all to an empty field where they would decompose making it more fertile for the next crop. Of course that could only happen in the recesses of our minds. The truth of the matter is that as long as we live we will experience all four seasons each and every year. God meant for it to be that way because He knows we need change in our lives. The winter makes us appreciate the summer more, just as the summer helps us to enjoy the winter. The spring and fall serve as wonderful and colorful times of transition. Until God says it is time for it all to end, it will always be that way. How do I know? Because the Bible tells us that it will. "As long as the Earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not stop" (Genesis 8:22). Despite predictions of global warming, melting ice caps, and the disappearance of the ozone layer, the seasons will not change this process. It never has because, ultimately, God has the helm of this great ship, 'mother earth.' Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |