Seasons

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven

Ecclesiastes 3:1

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The seasons in New England are dramatic. They are often a reason people love to live here. They are something that keeps us looking forward, and yet also something familiar and comforting.

The first snowfall sparks Christmas joy and lends itself to chilly adventures as we venture out on the slopes. But when winter seems to linger and wear out its welcome, the subtle shift in sunlight, the rushing rivers surging with melting snow, and the sweet melodies of birdsong remind us that soon, spring will burst forth with an proliferation of green and blooms. Then, summer heat descends, and we relish in ice cream runs and lazy afternoons. Slowly, the influx of crisp autumn air fills us with anticipation as we await of the explosion of color that will swathe the hillsides.

And just like that, everything repeats.

Living in New England has blessed me with the opportunity to grow a garden. Gardening is also very season-dependent. Each plant has its own time when it will flourish. The soil temperature, sunlight, moisture, and nutrients all have to be just right! Try to plant something outside of its intended season, and often you will not be able to get it to produce a harvest. But wait a little while and try again at the appropriate time, and you'll be surprised what it can grow to be.

Gardening teaches us resiliency, patience, and reflection. It teaches us that each season will have its trials and its joys. And its those moments of awe at what nature can accomplish and of pride in watching our seedlings grow to maturity that keeps a gardener coming back each season!

Life is filled with seasons as well. They don't always repeat as predictably as nature, but we can be assured that trials will not last forever and that we should rejoice in our current blessings.

If gardening for you has felt more like a trial than a joy, then consider joining me to learn the basic elements of gardening that will allow you to enjoy each season of the garden and see the trials as learning points to encourage your own growth as well!

The Elements of Gardening

March 16, 2024, 10:45 AM – 12:15 PMRWB Community Center

Register Now

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Read on if you'd like to hear more about my personal faith and journey in the Sowing Seeds part of this blog:

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Another blessing and way God has provided for me is the women's Bible study I attend in the mornings before work. Right now, we are studying Ecclesiastes. There is a lot to digest in this book, to say the least, but it has been enlightening to hear the comfort that others have found in a book that has a pervading theme that many of the things we strive to gain here on earth - wisdom, wealth, notoriety, pleasure - are meaningless as nothing remains after we are gone.

Vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?

Ecclesiastes 1:2-3

Yet, the hope is that we do not have to place our worth and life meaning in these things that may or may not come to us in our lifetime and ultimately will pass. We can find our contentment and present joy in God.

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

We are instructed to love God with our whole heart and mind, and Ecclesiastes encourages us to enjoy the simple blessings of a good meal, good friends, and a days good work knowing that our worth, meaning, and salvation is ultimately found in being a child of God and can never be earned.

My current season could be described in many ways: enjoying and learning in early years of marriage, exploring the beauty of New England, surviving my husband's medical residency, seeking contentedness while living far from family and friends. This season is filled with hard things that I know will pass, but it is also infused with blessings like natural beauty, new friends, and a chance to establish our marriage during this independent time as just the two of us. These blessings will also likely look different during the next season, so I want to enjoy them now as well and be able to reflect on God's faithfulness when the trials return.