I grew up on the West Coast of the US. The possibility of snow for Christmas was so remote that my mom would point to fog in the early morning as evidence that the holidays were just around the corner.

My wife and I now live in the Midwest. There’s a lot of snow when the yuletide season comes around. And I couldn’t be happier with four distinct seasons. But I don’t find that same response from many who have grown up in the Midwest. I find it amusing that they don’t share my appreciation for the wonderful cycles of change God has built into nature for our good.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Solomon acknowledged the cycles of life. He observed a time to sow and to reap, to weep and to laugh, to mourn and to dance, to gain and to lose, to keep silent and to speak, to love and to hate.

Just as God determines the weather, He also controls the cycles in our lives: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Eccl. 3:1). Do we resist those seasons and complain about the “snowy” conditions on the horizon? Or do we trust God and thank Him for whatever He has planned for us?

Whatever our situation is today, we can be thankful for God’s seasons.  — Dennis Fisher