Welcoming Winter

As I scroll through Facebook, I am reminded of summer. Teachers are finishing end of year cleaning. Parents are proud of their graduating students. Students are enjoying their new freedom at the pool/river/beach. People are traveling. Even the people that are officially adults and don’t get to do anything fun are complaining about the heat while enjoying beautiful popsicles with a summery background.

But this isn’t a blog about the danger of comparing my life to others, or the dangers of Facebook. Even without the benefit of social media to see all the best filtered moments of other people’s lives, my own heart tells me what I should expect at this time of year. Summer is typically a time of newness. Warmth. Freedom. Exciting things. Traveling. Visitors.

So as I watch others begin their summers from afar, I watch the leaves fall off the trees in my yard. I put on (another) jacket before walking to the store. I put off showering (again) because it is too cold. And I wish it could be summer in Bolivia.

But during summer in Bolivia, I wished for winter. As I put up our Christmas tree in shorts, I listened to Christmas music and dreamed of a white Christmas (as if we have white Christmas’ in Texas). I got a sunburn while I went Christmas shopping. I sweated during Christmas dinner with a scarf on in 95 degree weather because it felt more festive.

All of the seasons are reversed in Bolivia, and I often find myself wishing for the season of the Northern Hemisphere. And as a result, I don’t enjoy any of the seasons.

Rather than buying some pumpkin, lighting some candles, and enjoying the leaves in the yard, I wish for summer. Rather than enjoying summer-time at Christmas, I trick myself into believing it’s actually really cold and festive.

And in the process, I miss out on the season I am in.

How often do we do that with seasons of life as well?

We think that this time in our life should look a certain way, and then we are disappointed when it turns out differently.

We think God should have done a certain thing at a certain time, and try to make our life look the way we think it should.

And in the process, we miss out on the season that He has us in.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1, God promises that there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

We can trust Him to be good even in the seasons that we don’t want. We can trust that He is all-knowing and all-powerful, even when we would rather be in someone else’s season.

We can trust Him in the summer, winter, spring, and fall because of Jesus. Hebrews 4:15-16 says,

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Jesus came to live among men. He knows what it is to be cold, and what it is to be hot. But more than that, He knows what it is to suffer, to be hungry, to hurt. And yet, He was without sin.

Because of Jesus, we can be joyful in the season we’re in. Not because it might be a good season disguised as a bad one. Not even necessarily because of what great things God might do because of this hard season (although He might).

We can be joyful because Jesus sympathizes with us in our weakness. And because He does, we have the promise of forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Him. We can draw near to Him in every season to receive grace and find mercy.