'Let them mark off the seasons, days, and years'

By the time this column hits the paper, school -- at least for my children -- will be out.

Children throughout the streets will be singing "No more homework, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks." Don't be too harsh on them, though. Most of the teachers I know are also thrilled that summer is here. Although I have not been in school for quite some time, I still am nostalgic for the last day of school. Maybe it's the simpler days that I used to have. There is just something about summer break, open swimming pools and cool evenings that make you want to grab a tall glass of tea and listen to the baseball game while sitting on the back porch. The end of school is synonymous with the beginning of summer. Our lives are numbered by our days, but our memory is marked by our seasons.

From the dawn of creation, much to the disagreement of my friends whose seasons are marked by the calendar more than the thermometer, the Lord knew that his creatures needed seasons. Genesis 1:14 says "Then God said, 'Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them mark off the seasons, days, and years.'"

The seasons mark order and remind us that we are not in charge. In a day and time when it seems chaos rules, there is comfort in knowing that God created a world where the sun will set and the moon will rise. That spring will follow winter and summer precedes fall. The Psalmist reminds us that the Lord "made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set." (Psalms 104:19) There are just some things beyond our control.

The gift of life is more than a day. It is shaped by our seasons. Every day we find ourselves in a different season of life. There is the high school graduate who is starting out with nothing but a dream. Families marking their seasons by the number of empty milk jugs. An empty-nester couple buys a townhouse simply because their former home was too big.

Every day each of us finds ourself in a different season of life. One is not necessarily better than the other. They are just different.

Enjoy your season.

Rob Hurtgen is a husband, father, minister and writer. Read more from him at www.robhurtgen.wordpress.com.