We all know that there are seasons: spring, summer, fall and
winter.
I’m not sure which one I like the best but there are parts
of all of them that I do like…I celebrate them all (dressing appropriately of course). Whether it’s Easter, Christmas,
St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin, Halloween or Thanksgiving, I think we all enjoy a certain
time of year the best.
I like Thanksgiving and Christmas the most.
Growing up in Plainview, we would spend a lot of time at
Granny’s house running around and playing with the cousins, eating Oreos
(another blog on that one), eating some great cooking and listening to
Granddaddy tell stories only to have her correct him (and she did)! There were
always lively conversations, laughs, hugs, fresh rolls and Texas Cream Pie
(again, another blog on that delicious mouth-watering dish of sweet yumminess).
At Christmas, we’d spend in Haskell or in Plainview. Either way,
we had a great time. Christmas brings out the inner-child in me. I love
spending it with family and friends. Whether or not there was snow on the ground
didn’t matter…
But, there’s a storm a brewing…
I’ve seen tornadoes and hail storms in Texas and Oklahoma.
I’ve seen lightening up close and personal…high school graduation will
always be remembered! I’m actually surprised it didn’t burn the house down! To this day, I
still don’t like lightening.
I’m seen typhoons sweep by Japan and South Korea causing me a
lot of seasickness.
I’m seen the red-hot magma of a volcano in Sicily…twice.
Yet, I still went snow tubing on it. I must say that it was quite fun.
I’ve had the earth shake and rumble beneath my feet in
California and in Japan.
I’ve even experienced a tsunami in Indonesia and Hawaii. Well,
I was in Indonesia afterwards but I will never forget that experience there at
the soccer field in Bande Aceh.
Storms come and go.
We all have storms in our lives. Some have storms on a daily
basis. Others do not yet know the storms that are forthcoming or the paths they
will take in their lives.
I listened to my cousin Craig preach today since I was
unable to make it out to church. That man can preach…he talked about coming as
you are and not being distracted in anything you do.
We all have distractions…this storm is a distraction. This
season can be a distraction. So much attention is paid to what party to attend,
how much candy to buy, what costume to wear, and such. Distractions are just
that…distracting. Target and Wal-Mart make it very distracting when they set up
for holiday’s months in advance.
One Wal-Mart nearby has Halloween stuff at the front of the
store, Thanksgiving next then Christmas stuff in the back where the garden
center is…at least they got the order correct but setting things out several
months prior is well, distracting.
Family, friends, late pizza deliveries, etc. can all be
distracting…
As I sit here in my lofty office space high above the
street, I watch the waves roll and crash upon the beach. Each wave distracts
from the others…but yet they are just doing what they are meant to do…wave.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
states that there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity
under heaven.
Yes, there is a
time. There are seasons. There are storms. But that’s life.
Seasons and storms
come and go…it’s how you deal with it that matters.
