How would your life change if you knew there was always a season of joy?

Did summer evaporate in an instant for you? From 90-degree days with humidity, we plunged into a burst of fifty-degree nights that greeted us like an early wake-up call from a sound sleep. Fall has arrived. The change was like we departed in a spaceship to a new world.

Fall is my favorite time of year bringing new pleasures. Yet with some sadness, I started the ritual of switching out bathing suits, sandals, and light cotton clothes to cozy warm sweaters, toasty flannel sheets, and wool gloves, all designed to aid in navigating the cooler months ahead. With deliberation I shed the summer outfits not worn to be repurposed.

Also, with a little sadness we say goodbye to those summer treats: icy lemonade, a refreshing breeze, walking along the water’s edge… and outdoor dining with scrumptious barbeques and the bounty of garden ripped tomatoes, corn on the cob, and all the fresh berries of the season.

But with anticipation we can look forward to the joys of fall with pumpkins galore, the glorious shades of reds, browns, oranges in the trees that surround us, and crisp autumn air. Then there is the gastronomy change to hearty soups, roasts, chicken pot pies and the plethora of apple choices, my favorites being Macoun and McIntosh. I remember as a child going to a fall country fair and tasting freshly made apple cider. It’s a taste that still lingers in my mind.

Wouldn’t it be great if we knew what the season would bring? That, like the trees when shed, would blossom again. That we will enjoy other seasons after this one. That we would be assured this season will hold a bounty for us. That a new job, neighborhood, marriage, or having a baby would all turn out wonderful. Or knowing after losing a job, a marriage, a death, we also would find a way back into the light.

No wonder Ecclesiastes reminds us that change is part of our lives. So, we should celebrate and appreciate the moments of joy and know that for every dark situation there is also light. To everything, there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.

If we could just surrender our fears, our anxieties about what lies ahead, how much more at peace we would be? “Fear not” is in the Bible 365 times… I don’t believe that’s a coincidence. One reminder for everyday of the year. Even in our valleys, the Lord is with us.

Now retired from Corporate America, I get calls from people I used to work with asking for advice. I tell them if I could give myself one thing I would say, Don’t worry. Even the mistakes, the setbacks, the wrongs have taught me so much.

Let us embrace change, surrender our fears, lay them down, cast them off and live life loved. We can seek the joy in our lives.

How would your life change if you knew there was always a season of joy?