Another
season is coming. I could be signifying the season as determined by the
solstice (Summer/ Winter) or the equinox (Fall/Spring) – September 23 being
Fall this year. Or I could be referring to some other marker in life i.e.
season of youth or old age; season of health or pain; etc. The season of life I have in mind for me is
that which is introduced with a birthday that ends in a zero! It seems that
there is a lot of hype when a person’s birthday ends in a zero, as if it is
different from any other birthday that ends in a number. I recall when I hit
the big five-zero, I received all of these over-the-hill birthday cards
accompanied by lots of gag gifts almost universally colored in a black motif! Frankly, that decade wasn’t so bad! Then
again, even the Psalmist seems to emphasize years that end in a zero – “The
years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty” (90:10).
As I enter into this next season launched
by a birthday that ends in a zero, I reflected on other seasons in my life associated
with a birthday ending in zero. When I was 10, it was a season when I was a
student and thought school would never end. At 20 I had met my life-long love
and was excited about our life together as husband and wife. When the BIG 30,
arrived I was a Dad and was trying to figure out how to be one without making
too many mistakes! As four-zero landed I hit a mid-life crisis and considered
after 10 years as a Senior Pastor, if this is what I would be the rest of my
life. At 50 I looked at an empty nest and watched a son and daughter begin to
establish their families. When 60 arrived, I was now a grandfather, grinning
from ear to ear, and wondering what these children would be like when their future
birthdays ended in a zero. Now I hit another birthday with a zero on the end. I
wonder now how many more birthdays there may be for me with a zero on the end! Seven
decades now doesn’t seem that long and I am filled with gratitude for God’s
blessing in each one.
Pondering the seasons of life brought to
mind verses in Ecclesiastes 3:1 “To everything there is a season, a time for
every purpose under heaven.” The chapter continues talking about various
seasons of life (verses 2-8). The verses became the words for a 1965 number one
Billboard folk rock hit by the Byrds they entitled "Turn! Turn!
Turn!" They only added to the biblical passage the closing line, "A
time for peace, I swear it's not too late,” and the repeated phrase "Turn!
Turn! Turn!" I wonder if they shared their royalties with God!
There are two questions that come to mind
as I read those verses in Ecclesiastes. First, in what season of life am I?
Second, what is the “God-given task with which the sons of men are to be
occupied” (3:10) in this season of life? It is overwhelming at times to look at
life as a whole and try and figure it all out. A better perspective is to see
the season of life in which we currently live and then by faith take action courageously
and appropriately. Too often we look ahead through the corridors of an unknown
future and arrive at a fear-filled conclusion. Such a gaze into an assumed
future may paralyze us. Instead of moving out in life by faith, we shelter in
place. In such cases, opportunities we could have had and contributions we
could have made are often lost.
Each season of life requires of us an
appropriate action. In the Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life” we see George
Bailey enter into a difficult season of life. He had been a man who in earlier
seasons of life had dedicated himself to helping others. Then on Christmas Eve
he faces a financial crisis in which he sees no way out. He decides the only
way out is to commit suicide, and he expresses that he wished he had never been
born. Clarence, George’s guardian angel, honors that wish by allowing George to
see a world in which he never existed. Through this he realizes all the lives
he has touched and how different life in his community was because he was
willing to courageously go through the various seasons of his life – both the
good and the bad. He goes back to his community to courageously face the
difficult season of life before him. Spoiler alert if you have not seen the
movie; he gets though this season successfully.
Maybe the season of life you are in has
nothing to do with a birthday ending in a zero. Maybe your season is a
difficulty like George’s. Maybe it is a medical crisis. Perhaps it is some
family trial. Could it be just adjusting to an uncomfortable new normal?
Whatever it is; it is a season.
A story is told of a lady who graciously
endured a difficult life. Someone asked her what verse encouraged her in life.
She replied, “And it came to pass.” The inquirer asked, “Why?’ She replied, “I
like to remember that what happens to me does not come to stay! It comes to
pass.”
Remember, “To everything there is a
season.” Determine what the season is and respond positively.
