Cowley News The changing seasons reflects life

The leaves on the ground after being a beautiful green, turning yellow, gold then orange and brown is a dead giveaway of time passing. Soon we will have snow. The look of Main Street in Cowley has also changed. This summer, beautiful baskets of blooming color were scattered about. Now Christmas decorations light up the street. Christmas trees strung with colored lights are beautiful at night, along with red bows and lanterns.
It reminds me of the seasons of life. With the passing of time, we hardly realize its passing till it’s gone. I think of spring as the time when we are in our youth, just kids learning to survive with the help of our parents. Then with siblings and friends. Learning to share is a very difficult concept as a beginner. The summer season of life is probably the most fun season, learning to be independent as teenagers, spreading their wings, learning to fly. Playing sports, learning to drive, dating, socializing, learning more about life. Learning likes and dislikes, figuring out careers and what to pursue, many questions to choose. The autumn season of life is being an adult, gaining responsibilities, choosing a partner and having and raising children. Really learning about life as we watch our children grow up.
The winter season of life is after our children have left home and we have to readjust our thinking to letting our children, which have been our whole life, choose their own way and make decisions for themselves, loving them regardless. A time of retirement, our work changes or stops.
Now, we, my husband and I, are at the beginning of winter. We are semi-retired, and all our children are raised. It has been a grand adventure. Where has the time gone? Seasons, like weather, overlap, never sure when one begins and the other ends, and it varies with each individual and situation. Whatever your season, we need to embrace it and make it the best possible.
There are many seasons. Football season, wrestling season, basketball season, hunting season, gardening season, harvesting season, etc., a period of time that is devoted to something important. In Ecclesiastes 3:1, it reads, “To everything there is a season, a time to every purpose under heaven.”
To season something is to add a seasoning, a flavoring, to enhance, or improve the taste of something. We are about to enter the Christmas season, or Christmas tide, which is the 12 days of Christmas, from December 25 to January 5. The holiday season is from November to January, covering all the holidays at the end of the year.
To Christians, Christmas is the greatest holiday of all, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Most likely it is not his real birthday but the day set aside to celebrate his birth and life. When Jesus was on the earth, he taught love and forgiveness.
When he died, he showed us that we can live again like he did, have hope to see our loved ones again, and joy in having that knowledge. The greatest gift we can give or receive is love. The seasoning of his teachings makes this life taste so much better. Hoping you all have a wonderful Christmas filled with love, hope and joy by showing love to all.