Seasons

Trying to predict the weather in Atlanta can be a lot like predicting the mood of a pregnant woman. If you have ever lived or spent time in Atlanta and with a pregnant woman, then you fully understand the correlation. I spent two afternoons at the park over the weekend, both with a pregnant woman by the way, and the conditions outside were a lot like I hear it is all the time in both San Diego and Heaven. Our three kids couldn't have been more excited to get out of the house and run wild for a few hours unless they were parents of kids their age. It was a welcome change in the winter climate.  

But it came out of nowhere. Washing cars, playgrounds, picnic lunch, jogging, remote control airplanes, throwing footballs and frisbees... ahhh, January in Georgia.  Sunny, 60 degrees plus, slight breeze, on both Friday and Saturday. That weather has continued through the beginning of the week and will bring the vacation to us for a short while. I couldn't possibly complain about such beauty around me, the kind that warms both the body and the soul. Family taking time to be a family. Life is good and I am thrilled to be right where I am... Today.  

Wednesday and Thursday I was tempted to blow the budget on long johns, heated pants, a hot tub, and converting the living room to a fire pit. And that was only when my search for work in sunny South Dakota just for the warmer climate change ended with the discouraging news that our economy is apparently in a recession and jobs are hard to come by. It was cloudy, with biting wind, and antagonistically cold. I could have sworn that unless you live in Helsinki you couldn't possibly know how bad we had it here. Kids are locked up inside, watching the same three movies repeatedly, never agreeing on which one to watch at a given moment, taking out toys that they have no interest in playing with, every piece of furniture is a trampoline, and seeming a lot like harnessing the energy of an atom. There is nothing worse than young boys, confined, contained for extended periods of time. Family taking time to get on each other's nerves. Life is a massive migraine, and I'd rather be on fire... A couple of days ago.

And that is the way it goes. One day, the sky is falling. The next day, it is well with my soul. The weather in Atlanta last week, upon reflection, strikes me as symbolic of our perspective, usually dictated by emotions. We allow our circumstances to influence our mood, perspective and attitude. The way we treat people is determined largely, not by our character or a deep respect for our neighbor, but rather, by how we feel at a given moment. I think of the economy right now, and how many people are facing foreclosure, suffering through unemployment, rethinking choices, fighting hopelessness. 

That might be you. I know it has been me. It dawns on me though that the impermanence of seasons may be an intentional message from the one who created and sustains it all. Maybe He wanted us to have a physical reminder that "this too shall pass", that better days are coming. Maybe God wants us to know that though it feels like 27 degrees in our soul, there will come a day when it is sunny and 60. Maybe when it feels like winter, we are supposed to know that spring and summer are on the way, that winter doesn't stay all year this side of Narnia. 

There is something about the energy and warmth that the sun gives that helps us understand why the Apostle John chose Light as the grand metaphor for Jesus arriving on the scene. Though darkness may permeate your life and your world, though it may be cold and chaotic everywhere you look, Light can and will burst forth if you allow it to in the person of Jesus. According to scriptures, which I have come to trust, this is not a possibility but a certainty. 

Think of it this way: Spring IS coming. We don't wonder about it, we just wait for it, anticipate it, expect it and then welcome it with joy. But knowing that spring is coming, rather than just wondering if it is coming is quite a different thing. When we wonder if spring is coming, each day it does not arrive is a day of disappointment. Each day of winter frustrates, irritates and perpetuates a growing inclination toward despair. Rather than allowing dark days to form appreciation and gratitude within us for the days of summer, we give gloom the power to shape us, and embrace the cynical struggle to ever enjoy the sun, fearful of the day winter will return. 

 

When we know a better day to be in our future, we view the current day through a brighter lens. We don't just throw away the sunglasses because it's rainy and cold. We put them in the console or somewhere accessible, fully aware that the day will yet be upon us when the sun will emerge, brighten everything around us and remind us that the world is beautiful, that God is good, and that every day is a gift. 

I wonder what it would be like to view the world through that lens all the time. Rain or snow, cold or warm, clouds or sunshine... what if my perspective was always formed by the reality of the Son waiting to burst forth in all His glory. What if I looked for the Son in everything and in everyone. What if I lived without confusion, but simply knowing with absolute certainty that He is going to break forth, radiant, beautiful, full of life, energy and warmth. What if I knew that I could bring that into your situation, to anyone's situation. 

What if guys like me viewed pregnant mood swings through the lens of a baby to come. Would I be infinitely more patient, sensitive, excited and expectant about all that waits around the bend? What if we all began to see the world through the lens of what the bible calls this idea of New Creation... the lens of all-this-is-just-for-now... the lens of each day is a gift.

The forecast is calling for rain later this week, and we will be dipping back down into the 30's. I suspect that on one of those days I will start the rant of "I hate winter" that I tend toward. I am hoping that I will be reminded of this last week though. I saw temperatures climb almost 50 degrees in two days. I also went from being a single bachelor with no direction to married with three kids and no direction in 15 months. Direction came since then, though, and child number 4 is soon to come as well. 

New creation is happening every way you could imagine and in many ways that you can't. New creation is everywhere, all the time. The only question is are you expecting it, looking for it, participating in it? We have been invited into that way of living, that way of seeing the world. That is our alternative to cold, dark, frustrated and sad. I dare you to adopt this way of seeing thing. I dare you to live knowing that spring and summer are coming. I dare you to live certain that old things will pass away and new things are coming... in your life and the lives of those around you. I dare you to see passed the rain, through the cold and see if you can't find Light emerging. And I recommend you keep the sunglasses close by.