Thoughts About Summer

In my prior entry, I summarized the concept that we each have between 70-80 years of life. I then elaborated on the first 20 years of life which I termed Spring. I shall now discourse on the next 20 year time period which would be the Summer of life.

When we think of summer, we often picture long days with beautiful warm weather, lush green grass, trees with their branches filled to overflowing with leaves, and fields filled with grain that is starting to ripen. This is also much the way it is with the summer of our lives.

In the early days of Summer, it does not appear to be so different than Spring. There is still much learning and maturing that is taking place. However, now the learning is more practical than theoretical as the learning achieved for the last 12-14 years must now be applied to life. This is possibly the most dangerous time of life as all of the prior structures are often removed from the young person. This leaves them open to temptations that might not have been so prevalent in the years prior.

This is the time when the seeds that were planted during the first twenty years start to blossom and become truly apparent. Those tendencies have now become habits, which have now influenced the character of the young man or woman. However, they no longer have the refuge of being a youth to protect them from the realities of life. Now their actions will have the longest reaching consequences. This can be seen in the number of people who have become become attached to addictive substances during these early years.

This is when the young person will generally be in peak physical condition, and able to do the most with the strength and ablitity that God has given them. However, this is when the body will often suffer the most neglect and abuse, which will then be felt as the seasons of life progress. Thus it is best to remember to take care of what God has given before it is gone. Not for nothing did the Bible say that the attractiveness of youth is strength.

Because of these other factors, much of the travelling that a person will accomplish will be done before the age of 35. This is the time when the bonds of maturity are yet loose enough that the young person can just pick up an go. This makes it a time of great discovery and fascination. This will eventually lead to the next great discovery of a young person, the finding of that one person that they wish to spend the rest of their life with.

So this is also the time when young people truly start desiring to find their life long mate. This is evident by the very simple fact that all most all first (and hopefully only) marriages occur during this time. Then, most of these new couples will have children, and all before they have reached 30 years of age. There are those who get a later start, and others for whom it seems that such things are not to happen. However, this is true for the majority of people.

As one acquires the responsibilities, maturity sets in, and life becomes more settled. Thus by the time 30, or mid-summer for our purposes, arrives, it finds the young family stablized and growing. It is from this point forward that life falls into the routine and stresses of providing and caring for the family. All of this takes time, patience, and constant learning and adjustment.

After the height of the summer, the days begin to shorten though not noticiably at first. That which once came easy now takes more work, and that which might have been fun even ten years earlier loses its appeal. Now being parents, they are caring and guiding others through those turbulent years of spring when all is either glorious or catastrophic. The seeds that were sown in youth now start to truly be made manifest as the time draws ever closer to their harvest.

All too quickly the turning comes, and no longer is it Summer, but now the cool, brisk breezes of autumn can be felt in the air.

A thought about Spring

I was enjoying the warmth of our late afternoon yesterday, and my mind reflected on a dramatic presentation that Bro. David Norris gave concerning the seasons of life at the 2007 Illinois District Campmeeting.

I am going to run with the concept on my own.

Psalms 90:10 reads, "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years...

I am going to assume that most people are going to live to be nearly 80 years old. I do this for ease of division into a life consisting of four seasons. According to my calculations, that gives us twenty years per season of life. Each one is unique and brings with it its own challenges, turmoils, and troubles.

 The overall pattern is the same, however each individual is as unique as any given year. For some the seasons will start or end earlier. Not all have the same experiences. Some winters are colder, other springs warmer, or fall may seem like a second summer. But everyone begins with Spring. And this is where my thought begins.

This would be the first twenty years or so. This is when all most of the learning is done. The fulness of growth has yet to be reached, and the full attaining of strength and ability is as yet only potential. The greatest advances are actually made in the first two or three years of life in a child. This is the time when they learn to crawl, stand, walk, run, talk, and eventually engage in communication.

The next several years are spent exploring the world around them. It is at this time they start understanding the full ramifications of cause and effect. They learn that the world is not fair, and not everything will go their way. They have little concept of danger, and so do things that (having lived through the same things) an adult would not.

This is the time when thoughts, opinions, beliefs, behaviors, dispositions, and morals are taught. Their experiences during this time will permanently mark them in ways that only later reveal their nature. This is why the Bible states that parents should raise their children in the right ways.

The storms that blow through the life as they hit late childhood and early teen years are often the 'roughest' that they will face. This is because along with being a time of growth and progress, this is also a time of very intense change. Perhaps the greatest changes in life are during the first twenty years. This creates chaos and confusion for the young person. However, for many as they emergence from their late teens, the storms and chaos ease and though transitions remain, they are now equipped a bit better to handle it.

This is the time when most people will choose to either walk with God or leave the church. Studies have often shown that by the time a person has reached the end of high school, it is obvious which direction that they are trending. This does not mean that all is without hope, but it is far more difficult from this point on.

This is often the time when preachers are called and their training begins. Most preachers receive their calling between the ages of 10-20, although this is not true for all, and some may run from it for years before yielding. good habits in the study of Scripture and doing the work of God plant the seeds for a lifetime of service.

This is the time when success or failure is planted. The care that is taken in the spring planting will be shown in the harvest. If a parent is not careful by their example, the children may be lost. Good teaching during this period is key.