A Man For All Seasons

I have decided that I am indeed a man for all seasons. My wife would have you believe that that means the football, basketball, baseball, and hockey seasons. However, what I am talking about are the "real" seasons! I am presently visiting with my oldest son and his family in central Michigan and the colorful leaves and grasses reminded me of all the beauty that is a part of this wonderful world of ours. Living, as I do, in Florida we just have two seasons; wet and dry!

Having lived the vast majority of my life in the Midwest I became accustomed to a variety of weather and the seasonal changes. Spring time, with the warming of the soil and the budding of the trees and plants, always reminded me of the freshness of life and the promise of things to come. Summer time, with its' flowers and song birds, reminded me of the fullness of life and the joy of living. Autumn time, with its' colorful displays and the touch of freshness in the cool air always invigorated me. Winter time, with her bone chilling winds and blowing snow,always reminds me of why I live in Florida.

Seriously, it seems like which ever season I was living in I was always looking forward to the next. For 60 years it has been a cycle of looking ahead to what was to come next. While here in Michigan this week it finally dawned on me (I'm a slow learner) that while it is important to understand that THE BEST IS YET TO COME it is just as important to enjoy the present as it happens. So, as our lives continue to cycle by, let's somehow learn to live in the moment while still looking forward to all the changes that are yet to come.

Sun Set / Sun Rise

On September 30th and October 1st I was forced to do something I had long thought about doing. I had wanted some day to go from coast to coast here in Florida and see a sunrise on the Atlantic Coast and a sunset over the Gulf coast. After all this is the "Sunshine" state! I even thought about listening to the song; "Sunrise / Sunset" on the journey east to west.

But as you can see from the title of the blog I got it backwards; "Sunset / Sunrise"! One of our good members was placed in the V.A. Hospital in Tampa on the day before a scheduled prayer retreat in Daytona Beach. So the door was opened for my trip...just in reverse.

After a mid-afternoon hospital visit I drove to Hudson Beach, enjoyed dinner at "Sam's", and watched the spectacular splashing of the sun into the calm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The drive, almost straight across the state, took me through the Ocala National Forest and into Daytona Beach by 11 p.m.!

By 7:18 a.m. the following morning, the orange orb had found its way to the Atlantic Ocean and made a sizzling appearance over the wet horizon.

I got to thinking, as I walked down the beach, during my day of prayer that my trip really wasn't backwards at all. It was just the way it should have been. Someday, also at perhaps an unexpected moment, I will take a journey into the setting sun. My day here on earth will come to end and I will wake to the sunrise of a brand new day. Thanks to the "SON RISE" I am excited about that experience. It helped me to remember that for the Christ-Follower the "BEST IS YET TO COME".