Seasons
by Dave Gillogly
I love the seasons—all of them. Each has its own personality. Winter is peaceful and quiet, a waiting and resting time; a “sit by the fire with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate” and a “good book” time.
Spring is full of hope and renewal; an announcement of a new year with all its excitement and opportunities; a burst of growth and color after a winter of gray.
Summer is the fun “get out and play” time.
And then there is fall, my favorite. The temperatures are mild, and the colors are mellow and restful; a pleasant slowdown from summer; a time for peaceful reflection and gauzy dreaming.
Rather than wishing spring would hurry up, or summer would last longer, or winter would go away altogether, relaxing and leaning into the mood of each season seems to me the way we were meant to live; a healthy and balanced cooperation with God’s annual cycle.
As for the current season, besides its mood, I love fall for its holidays. Halloween, I’m told, is the second biggest decorating holiday of the year, and I love all the yard art and decorations for this kid-centric fun time. Sitting on the porch welcoming all the trick-or-treaters, handing out candy and seeing the costumes is mega fun. Then comes Thanksgiving with its blending of family and gratefulness. And, of course, Thanksgiving morphs into Christmas season with all its fun and splendor. The season is topped off with a celebration welcoming the new year. In all, the fourth quarter is a non-stop party.
This year, my daughter Kacy’s husband, Jeff Pollard, has inspired me to think differently about the holidays this last quarter. A few days ago, we received a text from Jeff listing the things for which he was thankful for us. It was part of a decision he had made to send 21 (one a day) thank you notes the three weeks leading up to Thanksgiving to people who had made a difference in his life. His note and explanation of his decision made me think about Thanksgiving and the rest of the year.
I think the by-words for the remainder of the year with all its celebrations (in order of occurrence) are GRATITUDE (Thanksgiving), GLORIFICATION (Advent) and GIVING (Christmas). I want to focus the remainder of the year on these holidays to keep them in proper perspective.
As our church calendar unfolds for the rest of the year, we follow a season of expressing gratitude with a season of glorifying Jesus, then expressing our gratitude with generosity through “The Gift Goes On” and dozens of other personal and community giving opportunities.
I always look forward to this time of year, but this year, concentrating on the qualities of Gratitude, Glorification and Giving makes me look forward even more eagerly.
So wrap up the end of the 2020 season on a high note by saying thank you (a lot), glorifying Jesus and giving some of yourself away. Oh, and jump in a pile of leaves with your kids or grandkids.
Author Bio
Dave and Millicent Gillogly have been experiencing seasons of the year and seasons of life with friends and family at Council Road for 43 years.