I was doing chapel with the preschool this past week, and I asked them, what is a season? And they all started shouting Summer! Fall! Winter! Spring! So, they named the four seasons of nature, and so then I asked them if they could come up with other seasons. After thinking for a little while, one little girl, with a timid voice said, I have a soccer season. Then another said, oh yeah! I have a baseball season! And then they proceeded to name every sport they could think of. I love the chaos of preaching with children.
We experience a lot of seasons in our lives, sometimes multiple seasons all at the same time. I was at the season opener for Atlanta United on Saturday, and there is just so much hope that comes from the beginning of a sports season. Everyone has the same record, and anything is possible. Our accountant friends are in the midst of tax season. We, hopefully, are coming out of cold and flu season though here in Georgia with the changing weather at off times, I’m thinking allergy season is going to hit us hard. Our bodies go through seasons. Our relationships go through seasons, too. Some of us are in the season of infants and toddlers. Others are in the season of retirement and empty nesters. Some are in a career season.
There is a thing about seasons is that there is a start, and there is an end. With some seasons the start and end are vague, but they will begin and end, and they are cyclical. That is why we know that even on the coldest day of winter, we will see the sun and go swimming again. Even on the most stressful day of parenting, we will hear the giggles and snuggles again.
We are in the season of Lent. This is a season that begins on Ash Wednesday and runs through Easter Sunday. In this season, we learn more about ourselves, and grow closer to God by understanding what it is that drives us, and understanding the magnanimity of who Jesus is.
When I was talking to the kids about the season of Lent and telling them that we are getting ready for Easter, one little boy said, Easter! Again?! Yes, Easter again. Because we are so forgetful, and we get wrapped up in other seasons of time and life. So, we have our Lenten season so we can journey to the cross, again, and celebrate Easter, again.
Peace,
Jordan