Tree rings of faith

One of my favorite things about living in Eastern Washington is the weather. It’s my opinion that there are very few parts of the country that can compare with the Inland Northwest’s weather.

Even the places I’ve lived overseas cannot match what we are blessed with here in our little corner of the world. Along with the dry climate and the fact that we experience relatively few weather-related disasters (tornados, floods, hurricanes, etc.), I love the change of seasons. As the summer now draws to an end with shorter days and cooler temperatures, I look forward to another beautiful autumn with its glorious array of colors.

It’s not only meteorological changes that we all experience in life, but life itself has changes of seasons: the springtime of our youth is filled with hope and promise; the summer season of early adulthood is a busy time of establishing ourselves in a career and experiencing the wonders of parenthood; the autumn years see advancement in our work, but are also accompanied by the reality of children growing older and leaving the home; and the wintertime includes not only the blessing of grandchildren but also retirement and the inevitability of failing health.

The four seasons can also be used as an analogy for our spiritual life. In our Christian faith we often undergo a similar cycle of change. At varying times, we may find ourselves in springtime as we bloom to God’s wonderful truth and goodness. Or we may be in the long days of summer as we grow in our faith and produce the fruit of the Spirit.

It may be autumn as we feel a chilly wind blow and resign ourselves to the letting go of a long-held dream or aspiration. Or we may be enduring winter as our faith appears buried under a foot of disappointments, discouragements, and failures—wondering why God is seemingly silent.

Which season of faith do you presently find yourself in? Whatever your answer is, remember that these times work on us just as they do a tree in the forest. Every year another ring of growth is added to our faith, enabling us to become stronger and more resilient against the blowing storms of life. The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes tells us: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

We can be reassured that the length of each season is not indefinite, knowing that even the harshness of winter will eventually merge back into the warmth of spring. And when that occurs, we will echo the Psalmist’s words: “All the trees of the forest will shout for joy; they will sing before the Lord.”