The Seasons of Life

As Fall is fast advancing, I thought it appropriate to give you my thoughts on the four seasons of the year, and how they relate to the four seasons we all go through in life.  Well, don't stop there, read on!

Spring

Temple Square in Salt Lake City, early May 2014

Spring is exciting for everyone.  Finally the long freeze of Winter is ending, temperatures are getting warmer, and the leaves are starting to return.  Hills and valleys and all trees are covered with the bright yellow-green of new growth, and what is more, brilliant flowers often appear all around.  Spring is like birth and new, young life.  We appear as small babies and everyone loves us (we do not inherit our ugliness until later).  We grow to be toddlers and young children, and we see the world in a much happier and more energetic light than many adults.  We begin to grow up and are charming and intelligent, joyful and loving.

My niece Tiffany.

Panoramic view of Douglas Fir in
Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Summer

Summer is the period of most growth.  This covers the part of our lives when we are settled in, when we have found our spouse and are raising a family and working away.  Service to others, especially our family, is the way we grow, the way we improve and become better and stronger.  Trees can grow to tremendous heights, and if we use our lives wisely, seeking to learn as much as we can, and develop and use our talents as best as we can to help our fellow man, we can grow to be beautiful and beneficial plants.  It doesn't matter what kind of plant we are, as long as we are the best of whatever we are.

Near the mouth of Snell Canyon, Utah, on the Hidden Oak trail.

Fall

Rock Canyon Campground, October 2013

Fall is the season of change before the end (I feel bad just writing "the end," since that is not what it is, but that will be covered in the next section).  When we have had lots of experience in life, when our children are raised and gone their separate ways and now have families of their own, when we have grown very close to God and know what we are doing in life, then is when we shine and our true colors come out.  Things are often the best right before they end, and quite frankly, the "experienced in age" are some of the best people out there.  Some people die in bitterness, losing their leaves all at once, but there are many, including my sweet grandparents, who climb more and more towards the  peak of their intelligence, kindness and love with each passing year,  

My grandparents. :)

Slate Canyon, September 2013

Winter

In Winter trees lose all their leaves and snow covers all the landscape in one thick white sheet.  According to all appearances, the trees have died, but everyone knows they really have not.  This is one of the main differences in our understanding of the seasons and the understanding of life--we know each Winter that Spring will eventually come.  But there are many who do not understand, when they see a body of a dear friend lying in a coffin, that that person still lives, and that body will once again spring to life.  No matter how cold or dark or long the Winter, the light of the Son will shine again, and every soul that seemingly "dies" will live again.  There is no such thing as the end.  It is conquered because of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Being the Son of the Immortal God, He did not have to die; yet He did, submitting to death so that He could conquer it for all of us and live again.  "O death, where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:55)

And yet many times, like a child when his parents leave him with the babysitter, we run to the door and pound our fists and wail, exclaiming "How could this happen to me?" and protesting that life is unfair.  It is easy for us as the babysitter to understand that the parents will return in just a few hours, and there is no reason to lament, but when tragedy strikes do we have the faith to look at the large scheme of things and see the moment when we again embrace our loved ones?

Winter is beautiful and peaceful.  Its silence invites reflection, and the blanket of white over absolutely all instills tranquility and solace of mind.  I know that my Redeemer lives.  I know that it is through Christ, our God and our Friend, that every one of us will live again.  We will live again and see God in our own bodies (Job 19:24-27)  "The only death that is truly premature is the death of one who is not prepared to meet God." (Elder Russell M. Nelson, April 2011).  We must do all we can to ensure that we are living the way we know we should, so that our death may not be premature, no matter when it happens (Alma 34:33-34).  Then, after going through all the seasons of our lives, no matter how short or long, we will pass into peaceful Winter before the glorious Spring morning next occurs.

Links:

Here's a link to a poem I wrote about how Winter is like death: 

https://www.facebook.com/notes/scott-zylstra/snow-a-chiasm/179051722251

And here is a link to a pretty nifty poem, "Be the Best of Whatever You Are:" http://www.bachlund.org/Be_the_best_of_whatever_you_are.htm.