Seasons

 Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Matthew 24:32

There are four seasons in a year in Scotland but we often talk about having four seasons in a day. Sun, wind, rain, and snow. Recently the seasons have been changing – warmer hotter summers and wetter winters.

In our lives we also experience seasons. Times for learning. Times of growing. Times for resting. Just as Scotland often has four seasons in a day we can sometimes have four seasons in our day.

God has seasons for individuals, communities, countries and the world. He moves us through the seasons as individuals and communities. Sometimes the transitions come gradually – only noticeable with reflection and hindsight. Others are abrupt, alarming or startling, leaving us feeling off kilter.

The Coronairus pandemic has been a transition of the latter sort. It has stopped the world and individuals in their tracks. What sort of season is it? It feels like winter yet nature goes on telling us that it is spring. The animals have their young – the fields are full of lambs and foals. The flowers continue to burst into bloom. But humans are stuck indoors social distancing.

It’s a paradox of seasons!