There is a Season

Thank you, Father God, for the beauty You create in every season.  Each season has its own special beauty...even winter when the earth appears to be dead with shades of brown and no spring flowers are blooming.  Sometimes the sky is a dark shade of gray when the sun is not shining.  And yet, as it appears a dismal place...the earth is preparing for new life and soon the earth will burst forth in glorious colors as the daffodils peak up from beneath the ground.

You set the world in place and even in times of darkness, You are preparing us for new life.  From the moment we are born, we are preparing to die.  Our bodies come into this earth fresh and new and from the first cry our focus is on ourselves.  As we grow we begin the process of maturing.  You draw us unto Yourself making yourself known through Your creation and the witness of others.  You teach us Your ways and how that we can come to You through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour by His blood sacrifice for sin upon the cross.  You give us choices for eternal life in heaven in Your presence forever or in hell and eternal separation from You.

As we grow old our bodies grow weary with aches and pains we had not known before. Disease steals our health and dignity.  But even through this, You are preparing us for new life.  Even when our bodies wear out You are preparing us for the glory of heaven.  You provide these opportunities for growth not only for our own sake but for the sake of those around us.  Help me, Father, to appreciate the winter season of life especially when it lays dormant for long periods of time through disease as death begins its process.  Help me to remember the quote I found on the inside cover of my Grandma's Bible:

Through death life is changed, not ended.