In our previous Wisdom Note, we continued our series called The Cycles and Seasons of Life with The Value of Attitude. This week we continue with The Awakening of Spring. If you miss any of our Wisdom Notes please go to the blog to read past newsletters.

While change is a constant part of our lives, continually working on renovation and upkeep of The Big House also gives us a realization of how important a solid foundation in life really is. With the house being over 117 years old, it is still as grand and beautiful as ever. With all of the fast pace changes in our lives, a strong, solid, lasting foundation is an important part of the living legacy that each of us should work toward.

As part of the Cycles and Seasons of Life, this week we will explore change through…

The Constant, Predictable, Pattern of Change

The tide comes in and then recedes; the sun rises, giving light, and then sets, bringing darkness. Drought plagues the farm fields of the world, followed by rain in abundance. On this day, we swelter under the intense heat of the July sun, and soon we clothe ourselves against the penetrating cold of the mid-winter storm. Prosperity brings her abundant opportunity and rewards, but will withdraw at a future time when confronted by a receding business climate. The smile gives way to the tear, as does the joy to the sorrow and the jubilation to the tragedy. Close friends become hated enemies. The guns and bloodshed of war are followed by the stillness of temporary peace.

For each of us existing on this spinning blue-white sphere called earth, confidence is replaced with the passage of time by doubt; patience is replaced by stress; expectancy by boredom; and achievement by disillusionment.

As the wheel of life continues its constant turn, all human emotions appear, disappear, and appear once again. We sit in amazement in the role of spectators, as a generation living in morality becomes an immoral generation. This gives us cause to predict the end of the world, as did our forefathers when confronted by the same dilemma generations before.

The confrontations, disappointments, and challenges of life are treated by each generation as though they are the first to experience such events, when in fact, the pre-Christian years saw the same occurrences both appear and dissolve.

Ecclesiastes 1:4-11 Solomon describes it this way, “Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, ‘Here is something new!’ But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.”

For all of us, the only constant factor in life is our feelings and attitudes toward life. A major challenge faced by us all is that we learn to experience the changing of life’s cycles without being changed by them. To make a constant and conscious effort to improve ourselves in the face of changing circumstances is to assure a tolerance for the winters of life’s events, and to permit ourselves the full enjoyment of the blessings of life’s harvest come the autumn.

Let us now hike through each season of life as it corresponds to the seasons of each year. We will begin exploring the beginning of spring this week, and on subsequent treks, we will travel through all four seasons taking our time to ponder what each season has in store for us.

Spring

Following the turbulence of winter comes the season of activity and opportunity called springtime. It is the season for entering the fertile fields of life with seed, knowledge, commitment, and determined effort. It is not a time to linger, nor to ponder the possibility of failure. Foolish is the one who would allow springtime to pass while dwelling upon the memory of the successful crop of last fall, or the failure to reap last fall in spite of the massive efforts of last spring.

It is a natural characteristic of springtime to present itself ever so briefly, or to lull us into inactivity with its bounteous beauty. Do not pause too long to soak in the aroma of the blossoming flowers, lest you awaken to find springtime gone with your seed still in your sack. Spring does not care if you sow or sleep, nor does it care if you plant abundantly or meagerly. It does not care if you plant the fertile kernel of wheat or useless weed-seeds. Neither spring, the soil, sun, nor other elements, care if you plant at all. It will merely present itself as the time to take advantage. Springtime will not admonish you to plant, nor will it warn of the consequences of not planting. For the tiller of the soil, springtime is without emotion.

It is God who gave you the wisdom to rise from your comfortable chair and enter the fields at the right season.

For the husband, father, wife, mother, or businessperson, springtime comes in the form of opportunity to enroll in a class or to have a conversation with someone at the proper moment, to have the courage to change either occupation or residence or perhaps even to change your mind about something or someone. The springtime of life manifests itself infrequently. Do not allow springtime to pass while you sit idly, contemplating the severity of the past winter of life.

With the intelligence, wisdom, and freedom of choice given to us as humans, exercise the discipline to plant in spite of the rocks, weeds, or other obstacles before us. The rocks, weeds, and thorns of the world cannot destroy all your seeds if you plant massively and intelligently enough.

To take full advantage of the spring, rid your soil of the weeds and rocks disguised as the opinions of those around you in the form of worry, doubt, or pessimism. It is the fertilizer of faith and enthusiasm that will overcome the worst forms of bugs and weeds. Listen not to the bearers of discouraging words—those who would have you rest with them during the work season of spring. They will find themselves starving come the fall and winter, or begging from those who recognize spring as a brief opportunity to work, and to leave play for another season.

There is much more to share about spring as a season of life, but we have come to the end of this week’s trail, and we will have to wait until our Wisdom Notes next week. Understanding the cycles and seasons of life may be difficult for you, but these truths are immutable laws no different than the Law of Gravity. You cannot defy that law, nor can you change the basic concepts that control the seasons of life. Once we acknowledge this, then we can create and live our legacy each day.

We have come to the end of The Awakening of Spring trail on this week’s trek. We have much to consider and ponder for this week. We will continue this trail in our next Wisdom Journal, as we learn why is it so important to Prepare During Spring as part of our Cycles and Seasons of Life, so don’t miss it. Encourage your friends and family to join us on our 5-days a week podcast: Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

As the world struggles to get beyond the pandemic and every world leader must balance physical health with economic health, let us pray for the leaders throughout the world. That God will give them wisdom, insight, discernment, and understanding. Let us pray also that these leaders turn to God for direction.