Seasons of Life

Up you wake for your winter sleep,
As from under the snow spring flowers peep!

While colorful butterflies flit and fly,
The sun glows brightly in the summer sky.

The days grow shorter as the leaves turn to gold,
Oh, the splendor of autumn is a sight to behold!

Now back to restful sleep you must go,
To slumber and dream 'neath winter's blanket of snow.

Cycles and spirals, around they spin,
The seasons of life ever renew and begin...

An original poem by Vicki C. Schofield.
(c) 2002 Vicki C. Schofield

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I have always enjoyed a good discussion with the girls. Last Thursday was no different and yet very different in every way. We worshipped with songs that were too difficult to sing. We laughed but not heartily. We discussed but not about anything really. We took turns answering the question, "What do you do when you receive bad news and very bad news ... about yourself and about those around you?"

Most said they would cry.

Another said she would assess whether it's something she can say or do to help the victim feel better. If not, she would just pray for that person.

Yet another said she once had a boyfriend who cheated on her. Needless to say, she cried when she found out the bad news. And then, she would get angry (at herself) for crying and not being be strong. She questioned God as to why this had to happen. When the initial shock passed, she found herself quiet before God. She sought for insight and what she could learn from the suffering, the betrayal, the rejection.

Most alluded to the importance of knowing "why" we go through difficult times or receive bad news about our families and friends whom we care about.

We all seemed to recognize the importance of trusting God even in bad times, knowing that at the end of the day, our lives are in God Almighty's hands.

Even Job (a man who was devoted to God) went through the most difficult times of losing everything that belonged to him, except his wife and his own life. He lost all earthly riches, possessions and his children. In his physical suffering, his "holier than thou" friends tried to help him identify his sin so as to repent and be restored to God. Back then, they believed that such calamity could not befall a righteous person.

Job could not think of anything that he should repent of. And when the bad times didn't go away, Job began to question God. Why this and why that, assuming that he had every right as a human being to question God's motives and judge the actions of God. After all, he had not done anything wrong that could be considered as "sin" before the eyes of man.

As we read on, Job was eventually silenced by God:
Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?
Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth
Tell me, if you know so much.
Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?
What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone
as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb,
and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness?
For I locked it behind the barred gates, limiting its shores.

I said, "This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop."
...

After the long challenging discourse, Job surrenders:
I know that you (God) can do anything, and no one can stop you.
You asked, "Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?

It is I - and I was talking about things I knew nothing about,
things far too wonderful for me.

You said, "Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them."

I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance."

The beauty of the "ashes" in our lives is our ability to seek out God and know the God whom we had only heard (or read) about before. Through the tough times, when we are silenced and brought to humility, when we find ourselves hopeless, betrayed, and rejected, we are quieted and ready to hear God out.

In humility, we are suddenly able to hear God's voice clearly. We experience God and can then truly say we have seen God with our own eyes.

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Vicky Schoefield writes,

Now back to restful sleep you must go,
To slumber and dream 'neath winter's blanket of snow.

It feels like winter eventhough I reside in hot, sunny Malaysia. In stressful times (for no particular reason), I find myself sleepy at early hours of the evening. Is it really a time to slumber, to hibernate and to be left alone?

Shall I put a sign on my door that wards off bystanders who are curious of my apparent lack of enthusiasm?

DO NOT DISTURB!

Winter in session

Hibernation in action

- Words of wisdom from the angry bear inside room

I laughed at the thought of having to put up a sign. We all laughed. Laughter is indeed a good medicine for the soul and for all seasons.

Sometimes communicating one's period of unsettledness helps lessen the misunderstanding when one unintentionally snubs others. Well, not on purpose anyway but as a result of being preoccupied!

The thought of winter overwhelms me. It's a time when there's no growth. And everything seems doom and gloom. A time when there's no apparent progress. A season of plateau-ing ... now that's unsettling ... yet, I know is necessary to usher in spring and be able to once again see new life, growth, and beauty!

Regardless of how I felt, it was certainly good getting together with the girls!