Life's Seasons

There's an old saying along the lines of, "Youth is wasted on the young."

I suppose that is somewhat true. When we think about the seasons of our lives we often don't even realize that we are living in the spring and summer of life until we have passed on to autumn. Likewise, we often miss out on much of the beauty of autumn because we are reflecting back on the spring and summer, or dreading the coming winter.

Somehow we always seem to be looking back or looking ahead without taking the time to look around.

I don't deny that I'm in the autumn of my life. The carefree days of my youth are well behind me; the days I have left certainly fewer than the days already spent.

I'm okay with that.

My hope is that I will be able to look around and enjoy the beauty that is the changing of the seasons - this period of transition between the sunny, energetic days of the past and the approaching subdued tones of the winter.

Things tend to move at a slower pace in the winter. Our lives are no exception. I watch the actions and antics of young people and catch myself wondering how long I would spend in bed - or the hospital - after attempting to copy them. Of course, with the coming of winter there also (hopefully) comes wisdom to know better than to even try.

There are some who fight the approaching winter with a vengeance; hoping somehow to hold off, or at least hide, the effects of the seasons. I'm sure we all know at least one person like that; the person who whether through medical interventions or clothing selections or hair manipulation or whatever seeks to give the outward appearance that they are still living out the carefree days of summer.

I don't want to hold off the changing seasons. I have earned each and every one of the gray hairs I see in the mirror each morning. Each gray hair brings with it a reminder to enjoy the day and all it brings. I want to embrace the life God has given me here and now no matter how many days I may have left.