Changing Seasons

Last night I went for my usual walk around the lake.  Spring is definitely here!  All kinds of babies from fawns to goslings have their parents scrambling to feed, care and protect.  Under a foot bridge, the cacophony of cries from nests filled with tree swallow chicks was almost deafening.  Moms and dads darted back and forth, gathering insects for their young.  They seemed none to happy to be disturbed by the noise created as I walked across the wood and iron structure.

One of the most beautiful sights I witnessed was this gorgeous creature perched as happy as you please on a rock.  Pretty sure it's a Great Blue Heron.

I slowly, quietly, made my way to the waters edge, carefully testing one of the larger stones to see if I could get a footing.  I lifted my camera phone and voila! A picture worthy of a postcard.  Within seconds, he was off, and I quickly snapped a few more.

As I rounded corner away from the lake and into the wood, I was suddenly struck by how lush everything was becoming.  It had rained the previous two days and everything had a more intense color.

The brown tree trunks appeared almost black, and the leaves were a deep, rich green.  Everything smelled clean and fresh.  I remembered coming this way not much more than two months before when the trees were barren and the only leaves were brown and crisp and strewn across the forest floor.  How very different it looked today. And I know in another two months time it will appear different still. The vegetation will be even more thick, filling out the gaps and totally blocking the view to the lake just beyond.








As I pondered all the changes, I thought back to a conversation I'd had a few days before with a young woman interning in my office. She knows my penchant for baking and to a lesser extent, cooking. She asked me if I'd always been so passionate about it. "No" I laughed. "I HATED to cook when I was younger." She seemed shocked. "It was a different season of my life" I explained. "The kids were young, I was working several jobs to make ends meet. The last thing I wanted to do was spend time in the kitchen when I got home." I went on to explain that I'm a very different person these days.
I love spending a Sunday afternoon cooking and baking for the week.  I get tremendous joy from creating yummy treats to give to family and friends.  Tangible evidence that I've spent time creating something just for them, to make them feel special.

I've discovered a new found joy in being outdoors experiencing nature.  I've taken to having my camera with me on my walks to capture simple and amazing beauty right in the local park. (Okay, it's just a camera phone, but you can't deny I've gotten some amazing shots with it!)  I feel like I'm beginning to develop a bit of an eye for capturing God's incredible beauty in nature which is a totally new interest for me.









I've become an even greater lover of sunsets...reveling in the rich golds, pinks, and purples painted across the sky and the shimmering glow dancing across the face of the water as the sun slowly slips down behind the edge of the lake to ultimately be swallowed up by the trees.  I have always led a busy life, and my calendar is still very full, but I have learned the benefit - the absolute necessity - of slowing down to enjoy life.  Of experiencing it with all my senses.  Of being quiet before God to hear what He is whispering to my soul.  It is an exercise I wish I had learned many years ago.

I've also discovered the importance of friends.  True friends who will laugh and cry with you.  Who don't care if your house is a mess - they come running when you tell them YOU'RE a mess at that moment.  Who when they say they will pray for you, actually do...and you know it because you feel the peace, the calm, the presence of God when you can't utter a word in prayer.  I now say "I love you" unashamedly and often to those friends because I truly do. 

Yes, I'm in a different season in my life.  It is rich, and full, and beautiful - much like spring.  But it wasn't all that long ago that I went through the winter.  Things were barren and often looked bleak.  However, I've learned to see the pockets of beauty that still existed during that time.  And I now appreciate spring all the more because of it.

Author and speaker Priscilla Shirer (daughter of preacher Tony Evans) shared in one of her studies something that stayed with me.  She said her entire single life she had longed to be married.  And when the day came that her now husband proposed, she was elated...for a few minutes.  Then she looked at the ring on her finger and realized that for all intents and purposes, her single life was now over.  And suddenly, she wondered what she had done with all those single years.  Now that she's the mother of young children she sees it happening again.  The temptation is to wish away the time - waiting for the day your baby can crawl, then walk and talk, then head off to school and before you know it, they are married and you wonder where?  Where did the time go?  Each season of life is to be lived to the full and appreciated for what it teaches us.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 are the well known "a time for" verses.  "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."  Verse 11 goes on to say "He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."

The devotional Jesus Calling put it this way a few days ago..."Here and Now comprise the coordinates of your daily life.  Most people let their moments slip through their fingers, half-lived.  They avoid the present by worrying about the future or longing for a better time and place.  They forget that they are creatures who are subject to the limitations of time and space.  They forget their Creator, who walks with them only in the present."

Don't let another moment slip away.  Begin today walking with Him in the present.  He has made everything beautiful in its time, so live the time you're in right now to the full...the seasons will most assuredly change down the road - don't miss a second of the one you're in.

The Lost Art of Personal Communication

Observation #3 - fasting from Facebook may not be hard, but I'm surprised and saddened to find it makes for a lonelier existence. 

On January 31st, I posted that I would be signing off Facebook with the exception of the occasional blog post, for the next 29 days.  I wished a happy birthday to all those celebrating in February since I wouldn't be able to do that on the actual day - I confess I have no idea when most of my friend's birthdays are without the aid of Facebook - and I also mentioned my fast from sweets and my determination to check email much less frequently.

Perhaps there was a misunderstanding.  I'm wondering if friends thought I was removing myself from all contact, because calls, emails, and even texts have been very few and far between.  Maybe some didn't see my post and continue to write to me on the site thinking I'm ignoring them.  Or maybe, just maybe, when I was constantly on Facebook, I didn't realize that those other types of communication had already dwindled off.

Anyone remember the good 'ol days of writing letters?  Or at the very least, sending a paper card through the US mail other than during the holidays?  How about using your phone to talk on instead of as a gaming device, alarm clock, web browser or whatever apps are capable of doing these days.  Even emails have given way to texting, Facebook messaging and Tweets.  Why is that?  Our interactions have become shorter and shorter.  Facebook statuses can't exceed 420 characters, a standard text message can't exceed 160 characters, and Tweets are 140 characters or less.  

I recently found a card my mother sent me.  She died from breast cancer that spread to her lungs and eventually her brain, more than 25 years ago.  To see her handwriting, and read the words of encouragement and pride that were in that card brought tears to my eyes.  There was a connection there warmer and more personal than any email she might have sent had it been around 25 years ago.  It was a piece of her. 

Last week, a sweet, thoughtful friend sent me a kids' valentine card in the mail.  It brought a smile to my face after a tough day.  It only took her a minute I'm sure to sign it, put a stamp on it and stick it in the mail...but those few seconds made my day. 

A co-worker has been working from home for some time after suffering from some health issues that make it difficult to come into the office.  Every week or so, I give her a call.  We chat about her health, what's going on in the office, what's not going on in our 'love lives' or the weather.  We're not solving global warming or world hunger, just making a human connection - real voices that communicate concern, share laughter, offer encouragement.  Before we hang up, she always says 'I love you my friend, you're the only one who calls anymore.'  Guess she's out of sight, out of mind for most.  It breaks my heart.

Last night, I went to church for a brief meeting.  One of the women there was a friend I haven't talked to in some time.  We chatted in the parking lot so long, I suggested we go to grab something at a local diner.  We talked until midnight.  She's been going through a lot of tough times - things that you don't post on social media, but things that need to be shared to have the prayer support of friends.  Sometimes, you just have to sit down face to face.

As I've been experiencing the loneliness of my Facebook fast I realize several things.  First, I unplugged, but I'm waiting for people to reach out to me.  I need to do some reaching out of my own.  Second, now that I'm aware how much of my socialization is coming from Facebook, I see how impersonal many of my interactions have become.  Third, there's no reason that the absence of a web site from my online vocabulary should cause me to be lonely.  I'm going to dig out my writing paper, encouragement cards, and a few pens.  At least once a week, I can invest 44 cents in a friendship.  Better yet, I can certainly carve out an hour here and there in my busy schedule to sit down with a dollar cup of coffee and have a conversation...live and in person. 

I'm excited at the prospect of resurrecting the lost art of personal communication, and I hope it's something that I will be able to make part of my regular routine.  I'm sure if I PLAY Words With Friends a little less so that I can HAVE words with friends a little more, my life will be the richer for it.