Spring & The Seasons

When you take on the responsibility to write a newspaper column one of the levels I strive to reach is to always have a relevant or interesting topic. In preparing for this particular article I have had my fingers crossed, my toes crossed and all other best of hopes in play. This year I had a personal countdown to spring time. This years experience with old man winter has been a real challenge. I guess when the cold snap hit before Thanksgiving that might have been a sign we simply overlooked at that moment. Glancing back there is no doubt winter was speaking, we were just not listening. Rain that turns into 4 inches of ice...experienced it. Rain that turns into 6 inches of snow...experienced it. Rain that just rained and a sun that shine with temperatures creating beautiful days...experienced that too, all in winter. Being prepared for the unexpected weather shifts has been challenging. We have all experienced this season the craziness of winter. Great spring like days of weather to only see on the same day, the temperature fall like gravity had a power surge. Observing all the fluctuations has left me thinking about all the lessons that can be learned from the weather. Possible lesson number one for me involves writing this column. Writing in advance of publication, 'Spring' has not arrived yet. By the time you read this column 'Spring' will have arrived I am just not sure what the weather will be like. My first lesson will be that the season will change from winter to spring even if the conditions favorable to the season have not yet quite arrived. Lesson one, the weather and life each has their own hitches. The weather teaches lessons also that seem so strange, weird and yet unique all at the same time. For example, in the summertime when the sun is shining, the temperature is awesomely perfect and with not a cloud in the sky, it rains! What a strange moment. We ask not only ourselves, but those around, did anyone see that coming? Normally you just need to wait around for a few minutes, the rain will pass and things continue almost as they were. The weird thing is that the heat seems to go up after such a rain showers. Science can explain this but who wants to discuss science when you are watching a baseball game catching rays. The moment is uniquely capped off with an awe inspiring rainbow. Life has many unexpected moments just as the weather, and life has just as many weird and unique situations too. Attempting to capture life and to seize our opportunities no matter the weather conditions of life can be a challenge. Perfect moments do occurs but I've discovered in my life experiences they happen most often unplanned. My experiences also teach me that when I attempt to manipulate things and change them to suit my personal preferences and desired outcome this normally make things worse. The weather example I am thinking about is when you are going into a meeting. You've parked your car and what would normally be a perfect walk is interrupted by rain. With no hat, umbrella or brief case you attempt to run to the office door using your books or papers to cover your head. (Forget about why we would think this would be protection from the elements--we will save that thought for another day) It doesn't work, and now we are frustrated that our papers are wet and we had planned on passing those out in the meeting. Our intervention certainly didn't help matters. Life is this way too. Taking matters into our own hands is never a good idea. Waiting out the rain would have been a great idea, having an umbrella the best idea. Our actions proved the value we placed on our hair or head. Covering it for whatever reason we thought at the moment was the right idea. Oh the discussion we could have about things we thought were right at the moment. God makes the sunshine and the rain, the ice and the snow. Best remedy and advice I have, would be get to know Him. He can help with weathering the seasons without a doubt. Until then