Appreciating Times of Transition
One thing I observe when discussing any given season throughout the year is that it always conjures this image of what people romanticize the most — the peak of that season. Whether it’s trees heavy with apple blossoms and the scent of lilacs wafting through the air in the spring, BBQs at the lake and warm evenings with fireflies in the summer, rich colored foliage and the smell of burning leaves in the fall, or a perfect snowy landscape and softly glowing Christmas lights in the winter.
The things that don’t get nearly so much love are the wet muddy spring days when the trees have yet to bud, the dry, dull summer days when the lawn is scorched and yellow, a light snowfall on a cold autumn morning, or zero degree temperatures and the groundhog promising six more weeks of winter.
But I’ll be honest. One of the best parts of enjoying every season for me is watching those gradual transitions from one to the next. Even in less than ideal conditions there is much beauty to be found. I have truly come to appreciate the non-climactic moments as well as the climactic ones.
For instance, the first sunny day of spring when the snow begins to melt and you see grass for the first time in several months. The melancholy of a low setting sun after the last hurrah of summer when the beach has been all but abandoned. The dreary transition of fall into wintertime as the leaves make their final descent along a frigid creek and you wake up to sparkling frost on the lawn and rooftops. And even those winter evenings in mid-February sitting by the fireplace, reading a book, with no pressure to go out into the world.
Just as in our relationships with people, I think when you actually see a season for all it is, not only at its most ideal, that’s when you really get a chance to experience the richness of life. That is also where you will find the greatest opportunities for inspiration because it’s when everyone is least expecting it. These untapped moments should be savored as they offer times of reflection, endurance, and even hope for what’s to come.
Because it’s only when the rain falls that you can truly appreciate the sunshine in all its glory. These things help us to not take the peak for granted and this is where new plans for the future take shape. There is such excitement in planning the season to come because life becomes a doldrum when there is no state of transition that allows you to dream. And dream, we must, or else we wilt and die.
To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
