This past week has finally felt like Spring might just have chosen to arrive. The sun has been shining, the crocuses and daffodils are beginning to appear, and the temperature has occasionally risen above 10 °C! Whilst I am definitely happy to see more sunshine, Winter is actually my favourite season so I am always saddened when so many celebrate its end and lament its imminent return. Therefore, this week I have been dwelling on the value of each season individually, and I have found music a really helpful tool in doing this.
One of my favourite hobbies is listening to classical music and as the seasons change I am always drawn back to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. It’s a beautiful piece consisting of four violin concertos split, unsurprisingly, across the four seasons. In listening to this piece I noticed that despite the clear differences between the sections of this piece each is beautiful in its own distinct way, and that without all of them the music would be less in its entirety. Each individual movement contributes something different to the overall piece, just as each season in nature contributes to different aspects of God’s creation.
But how can this recognition of the value of each season’s contribution to creation be applicable to our lives? In thinking about this I was drawn to Ecclesiastes 3 which speaks of the importance of different times in our lives being for different purposes. This always fills me with encouragement as it serves as a reminder that despite the struggles certain seasons may bring us, after the often bleak Winter days comes new life and growth in Spring which then flourishes well into Summer. As for Autumn, this is a season where change abounds and new things are planted ready to bear fruit in the coming seasons. Which areas of your life do you see as being in Winter? Why not pray for God to bring new growth; for Spring to emerge out of current hardships. Conversely which areas of your life contain fresh growth or are bearing fruit? Let’s not forget to also praise God for the good works He is doing in our lives!
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3.1