Seasons

   I have always liked the differences in the seasons of the years. As one type of weather changes into another, a new set of conditions stretches outward toward the future. There is something out there that seems to say "look forward to something new and different and get ready for some new experiences".

   For some reason this summer has seemed pretty long, and it is not over yet. We have had hot weather for many weeks and it is not even August yet. The time has seemed to slow down in its passing and the days move slowly toward the Fall season. Maybe when there is the prospect, no matter how far away it seems, of cooler days, the lingering days of summer, well, they just linger, lying there on the hot sidewalk.

   I not only see the subtle changes in weather, however slow they may be coming, but I see those changes that come in my life as I get a little older. Not old, mind you, just a little older, as we all do. In my mind I can still do all the stuff I did 20 years ago, but my body just won't cooperate. Goodness knows, I try, but then I see that maybe, I really can't do it as well.

   As I was in the atrium at church this morning before the service, I noticed a man in a baseball jersey sitting at a desk. I then heard him talking to another person about church league softball, and I walked over to speak to him. He was signing up people for a team to play in a coed softball league. He then asked if I would like to sign up, and my first thought was "yes". But then the memory of 20 years ago, when I last played, put a halt to that thought. When I realized that I could not catch the ball, could not throw it, or hit it, that earlier excitement stopped quickly. Then the remembrance of that popped hamstring on the way to first base at the field in Collegedale sealed the deal. No Way!

   Life continues on, and changes are a normal part of that life. As in the way my body functions, so it is in other areas. Children grow up and move away with families of their own. Instances of importance in various avenues of life give way to new roles of observation and less of leadership.

   God can use the circumstances of life to let me know what I need to be, and how I need to respond. I guess I could moan and groan and say "woe is me", but maybe a better way would be to ask the question, "what is out there for me now, something that God is leading me toward?"

   OK, I'll try to listen, but I think I could still play....