I can hear the call of the geese as I write this column. I will soon hear the ring of my ax on splitting birch. Yesterday I saw carts full of house stain at the store and industrious looking customers heading out with gallons and brushes. Driving to Fargo the other day I saw brilliant red leaves surrounding bogs and wetlands. There are signs all around us. Fall is arriving. The days are shorter. Nights are cooler. There is no doubt about it; the season is already beginning to change.
Transitions are times of reflection and anticipation. What a wonderful summer we have had. I already wrote about the grand harvests of blueberries so many people have enjoyed. It has been a great summer. And one aspect many will remember is the heat. This has been a hot summer.
Some people just loved the high temperatures. And some people just loved to complain about the heat. Of course, because of the moderating power of the great lake, we never experienced the dangers of heat that some areas of our country did. Nevertheless, in our own way we experienced a hot summer and enjoyed many conversations about it.
And then there was the rain. Plenty of it fell. The rainfall was enough to break the northern drought, but it was too much water for our friends in the Duluth area. Whatever the weather however, it has been a wonderful season to be together, enjoy the lakes and woods; cherish time with family and friends.
The seasons of life we are in, whatever stage that might be for you, are also affected by transitions. You can make a case that transitions are simply constant. We are constantly moving from one age to the next. I consider that God has made our lives such that we can find the blessings available in each stage or season.
The Apostle Paul spoke about realizing a deep contentment in all circumstances; even those many would consider completely negative. Each season of life has richness and blessing appropriate to it. Of course, there are some people who relish life; they just light up any space and conversation with their positive attitude. And if you enjoy life, they are fun to be around.
And of course there are other people who just love to complain about life, and they can have the opposite effect on your own feelings and experience.
As I hear the geese wheeling above, calling to one another, organizing for the fall migration, I know we are moving into a new season. I also know I do not swing my ax as fast as I once did. I enjoy a few more coffee breaks now when I am moving firewood. I know that time rolls on constantly. We are aware that we are transitioning constantly from one season of life to the next.
We experience losses even while we celebrate each moment. It isn’t fall yet, and even when it arrives we will celebrate all the blessings of vibrant colors and crisp clean air, so why grieve the change? There is much to anticipate and enjoy in our times of transitions.
I take a cue from a portion of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:25-34. That portion is considered an admonition against worry. I hear it also as an encouragement to enjoy the now in God’s gifts of time. This is a good season, and so will the next be.
My oldest sister had a favorite song; I remember hearing her sing, “Try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh, so mellow…”
It is a sad and wistful song that looks back on time that is now past. My sister died when she was 49. She never reached “that time in September.” I grieve the loss of her life and I am sad for her that she didn’t receive more, and I commend her into the foreverness of God.
But I take a lesson from it all. This is the season we are in—right now. Therefore, I am enjoying August. Moreover, I know, September will have blessings to celebrate. Yes, I am talking about the calendar months; and you know I am referring to our spiritual seasons as well. This is a time to enjoy the blessings we are receiving, it is also a time to reflect on the grace we have received; and it is a time to anticipate what more God will reveal.
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month our contributor is Reverend Mark Ditmanson of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Grand Marais.
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