Thursday, October 16, 2014

Seasons of Life


For Everything There is a Season
Author Unknown
 
"Wanting his sons to learn not to judge too quickly, a man sent each, in turn, on a quest to look at a pear tree far away and report what he saw. The first son went in winter, the second in spring, the third in summer and the fourth in fall. Finally, the father gathered the young men together. “What did you see?” he asked.
 
The first son reported seeing an ugly tree, bent and lifeless.
 
 
 
The second disagreed, saying it was budding with fresh new life.
 
 
 
The third son reported finding a tree laden with sweet-smelling, beautiful blossoms,
 

while the fourth insisted it drooped with ripe fruit.
 
 
 
The father said his sons were all correct, for they’d seen the same tree, though at different seasons of its life. “Don’t judge a tree - or a person - based on just one season of life,” he counseled his children. “Who they are can only be known at the end, when all life’s seasons have been lived."
 
"Furthermore,” he added, “don’t give up on your own life if you experience a hard season, such as winter,
 
 
 
or you’ll miss out on the renewal of spring,
 
 
 
the joy of summer,
 
 
 
 and the fulfillment of autumn.”
 
 
How true and wise are those words.
 
But we are not wise when we judge ourselves by the season we are in.
And we are not wise when we judge others by the season we see them in..
 
We may not know the harshness of their winter.
We may not have seen the precious buds of their spring.
We may not have experienced the joy of their summer.
Nor did we glimpse the fruit of their autumn. 
 
God does not expect a tree to bear fruit out of season.
 
No one looks for apples on the tree in May.
Neither does the gardener expect to reap the harvest in January.
 
You may be experiencing winter, but there is the promise of spring.
The heat of summer may cause the leaves to droop, but the harvest is just around the corner.
 
Trust the seasons of your life to the one who spoke them into being.
And let Him be the judge.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment