When it rains....it floods

It's amazing how the seasonal events in nature mirror our own lives. 

Spring: the beautiful time of rebirth.  The world is brand new, the air is crisp and clean, everything is brighter, somehow stronger. Birds sing louder, they seem happier. Ducks and geese have returned to their favorite spring destination, and wade happily in shallow waters.  It's a great time for weddings, baby showers, graduations and new dreams.  Life takes on new meaning and there's a slight spring in our step.  Everything makes sense and we relax in the feeling of having all the answers.

Summer: hot fun in the summer time.  The ocean water is warm and calming.  Dolphins play and seagulls are plenty.  The sun is hot.  The days are longer, but somehow seem to go by faster.  Flowers are in full bloom and vibrant.  Ducks and geese have settled comfortably in their favorite pond, but aware their time there is short.  We have cookouts, family reunions and adults play like children.  We stick out toes in the sand and baste in the sun, never wanting the day to end.

Fall: times are a changing. Leaves start falling.  Ducks and geese become restless in the cooling water.  Highways are lined with burnt orange, green and red. Even the sky grows gray and restless awaiting the changes ahead. And the rain....the rain starts falling.  School starts and children start off eager.  Parents rush around, chugging coffee, barely eating, tossing and turning, barely sleeping.  We start working seasonal part-time jobs in hopes of having enough money for Thanksgiving Turkey and Christmas giving.  Malls stay open longer and get busier.  Sitting in traffic longer, getting home later.  Working more and doing less together in hopes of doing more together.  And the stress...the stress starts compounding.

Winter: fly away birdie.  The pond is empty.  The tress are bare.  The ocean is cold and rocky.  The dolphins have left, large whales remain.  The snow starts falling.  The sky has settled into darkness and the days are shorter but seem to last forever.  The earth is still and cold because it is waiting.  The anxiety of fall is starting to clam down.  We have resolved that we've done all we can do and happily exchange gifts around a Christmas tree decorated in love the night before, and save the worry of our dry bank accounts for another day.  In the midst of our anxiety, we find peace and grace.  We wear heavy sweaters and jackets, drink hot chocolate and apple cider and snuggle next to each other while singing Christmas carols.  This is the season babies are made.  

And then, here we are, in Spring again.  And something miraculous has happened.  With no assistance from man, the earth has decided to bloom and grow again.  The geese make their way across the land.  A seed begins to open and push it's way through the earth towards the sun.  The ice begins to melt and the floods are gone, and underneath it all is life.  And at the end of winter, we have made new resolutions, some will only blossom for a few months and others will last a lifetime.  We have learned about ourselves and each other.  We have learned that we are stronger and more resiliant than we ever thought we were.  We have realized that we still can be kind to each other and that we still love each other.  We resolve to work, to play and to love harder.  And we begin anew, every year until our years are no more.  It is a beautiful thing, this world and creation God has made.  

We grow, and we live, and we change, and we die in some way every year of our lives.  We experience a death of old habits, beliefs, relationships and circumstances and then we experience a rebirth into a whole new set of habits, beliefs, relationships and circumstances.  But pay attention through each season.  You will realize you don't have force anything.  Everything happens in its time, nothing happens out of order, in nature or in our lives.