Gratitude for Seasons

Spring is my favorite season. Winter is my least favorite. But I have appreciation for all of the seasons, because each contains something good and something necessary. New life, growth, change, death, new life, growth… The cycle is as it should be. And both beauty and difficulty can be found in each part of the process.

The connection between seasons of weather and seasons of life is not lost on me. I’m only 46 years old, but I’ve been through quite a few seasons of life already. Some seasons have been harder than others, but each has contained beauty in some form. I don’t want to simply endure a hard season; I want to live fully throughout it. One way to do that is by proactively choosing gratitude in each and every season. It can be a real challenge sometimes, but when I meet the challenge, it makes a positive impact on my perspective.

What about you and your family? Are there particular seasons that are harder than others? Maybe you’re in the midst of one right now. May I challenge you to look for something to be grateful for, even (and especially) in the midst of the difficulty? Don’t let the beauty of a season pass you by without noticing it. Things might look dark, cold, and as if they are dying, but there is still life! And there is still hope! We can do more than simply endure the hard seasons. And it is helpful if we make it a conversation with our families–acknowledging what’s hard while also looking for what’s good, together.

You can probably guess that I am not excited about the time change tonight and about winter being on its way. But I’ve been through it all before, and I know that this season will not last forever. That’s good news to me! On the other hand, my favorite season won’t last forever either. But choosing to have gratitude for and through all of it… THAT can last forever.