I have been contemplating my approach to this final season of life. As the weather has begun to turn, the days grow shorter, and the atmosphere becomes increasingly frigid, it seemed to be the right time to conclude my thoughts concerning the seasons of life
Winter is the time of year when the days become shorter, There are things to be done, but there is less time to get them accomplished. The fields are allowed to lie dormant for the most part. The ground is barren, and very little grows. It is a time when disasters seem to be greater than at any other point, All that is desired is the comfort of the indoors where one may take refuge from the harsh, biting, frosty wind.
This is much like the final twenty years of life. This is the time when people who have worked all their lives retire, and some begin to travel extensively. Medical bills become more common, and grow increasingly more expensive as the body begins to shut down. The work of raising children has been completed, and now the grandchildren are being raised. People come who desire wisdom and knowledge, because of the past experiences that have now been had. The body ceases to function the way it did, which makes it easier to stay in one place for longer periods of time. As time passes, and more friends and acquaintances depart this life, it begins to make one long with an ever increasing hunger for God to call an end to the sojourning here.
Eventually, we all know that death is the conclusion of our life here on earth. All that was done is now complete, and it is time to stand before God. However, for the Christian, it is now Spring and Summer for all of eternity. First, we will be rewarded for all of our works here on earth, but there is no longer any sowing or reaping that we must do. While there will be duties and responsibilities that Christians shall have, we shall be forever at our peak of physical and mental ability. We will be forever entranced with the wonders that God has laid out for us.
No one knows for sure what that day shall be like when we reach the other side, but we are told that it is beyond anything that we can anticipate. As Paul wrote, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (I Corinthians 2:9)
Let us therefore use the seasons of our lives to the best of our ability so that we may hear Christ say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of thy Lord."
