The good and bad seasons

I remember my first fall in New England. My family and I had moved to the small village of Washington, Vermont, in 1993. Being city people, it was a bit of adjustment to move to a village of under 800 that only had one paved road. But we soon made friends both in the church and in the community. We learned to enjoy fall pleasures such as apple cider, apple pie and many other delicious apple treats. We discovered how to press colorful leaves between pages of books and enjoyed raking up big piles of leaves only to watch the children jump in them and spread them out again. Fall is a wonderful time of the year.

“Instead of cursing the coming winter, let us enjoy the fall while it lasts. Enjoy the smells, tastes and treats that each season brings, and in the dark of winter, let those memories carry us until spring comes again.”

But we also learned that in New England, after the glorious colors of fall, comes the onslaught of winter. Though winter is different depending on where you live, the farther north you travel, the harsher the New England winter is. But no matter where you live in New England, it is well known that after the joy of a glorious fall, the winter will come.

This is a great metaphor for life. We often think as Christians that if we say a few extra prayers and do a couple of extra good deeds that will somehow make life continue on a never-ending happily-ever-after path. But life is made up of both good days and bad days, happy moments and sad moments, laughter and tears, the glory of fall and the harshness of winter. That is just the way life is, even for Christians. Instead of cursing the coming winter, let us enjoy the fall while it lasts. Enjoy the smells, tastes and treats that each season brings, and in the dark of winter, let those memories carry us until spring comes again.

This is particularly important for us as Christians. Because we know the glorious truth of the Gospel, our focus must not be on the ups and downs of a single day, or even of a season. We must have an eternal view of life in order to understand it correctly. With an eternal view in our hearts and minds, we can endure whatever the winter season of life throws at us.

Dr. Terry W. Dorsett serves as the executive director of the Baptist Convention of New England.