Senior Pastor, Rev. Clayton Peak
As I write this it is Sunday afternoon, October 13. The weather outside is beautiful! It's sunny and 71 degrees. A bit breezy, but it's quite pleasant. It's so pleasant that Rebecca and I have opened a couple of windows to let some fresh air into our house. Before I sat down at my computer to start typing, I relaxed a while in my easy chair, enjoying the sound of the breeze blowing against the slats of our window blinds.
Early autumn is a great time of year. The weather is not too hot or too cold. There is usually a good amount of sunshine. You can open the windows, sit out on the porch, or take a walk around the block, enjoying the fresh air and pleasant temperatures. Although the days are getting shorter, we're still on Daylight Savings Time, which gives us an extra hour of daylight in the evening. To some extent, early autumn, along with its counterpart in the spring, might be the most perfect time of the year. What is there to complain about?
This heavenly season won't last forever, however. The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that: "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3: 1, NRSV). The weather will soon get colder, the days even shorter, and when we switch to Standard Time on November 3, the days will get dark an hour earlier. Before we know it, we'll have the ice, snow, and cold of winter, combined with the shortest days of the year. Yet that, too, will not last forever. Within a few months, the days will start getting longer and the temperature warmer on our way to the hot and humid summers we typically have in the Kansas City area.
The changing of the seasons reminds us that God is with us during all of life's seasons: through pleasant times as well as not-so-pleasant times. We also read in Ecclesiastes 3 that there is, "a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance" (Eccl. 3:4). Do you find yourself weeping now? You will one day laugh. Are you going through a time of mourning now? You will one day dance (either actually or metaphorically or both). God will see you through whatever you face. No matter how hot the summer or cold the winter of your life, a pleasant autumn/spring day is on the horizon. So let us encourage one another with these words. As the old saying goes, "tough times never last, but tough people do!" Take care and I'll see you in church!
Grace & Peace
Pastor Clayton
Early autumn is a great time of year. The weather is not too hot or too cold. There is usually a good amount of sunshine. You can open the windows, sit out on the porch, or take a walk around the block, enjoying the fresh air and pleasant temperatures. Although the days are getting shorter, we're still on Daylight Savings Time, which gives us an extra hour of daylight in the evening. To some extent, early autumn, along with its counterpart in the spring, might be the most perfect time of the year. What is there to complain about?
This heavenly season won't last forever, however. The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that: "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3: 1, NRSV). The weather will soon get colder, the days even shorter, and when we switch to Standard Time on November 3, the days will get dark an hour earlier. Before we know it, we'll have the ice, snow, and cold of winter, combined with the shortest days of the year. Yet that, too, will not last forever. Within a few months, the days will start getting longer and the temperature warmer on our way to the hot and humid summers we typically have in the Kansas City area.
The changing of the seasons reminds us that God is with us during all of life's seasons: through pleasant times as well as not-so-pleasant times. We also read in Ecclesiastes 3 that there is, "a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance" (Eccl. 3:4). Do you find yourself weeping now? You will one day laugh. Are you going through a time of mourning now? You will one day dance (either actually or metaphorically or both). God will see you through whatever you face. No matter how hot the summer or cold the winter of your life, a pleasant autumn/spring day is on the horizon. So let us encourage one another with these words. As the old saying goes, "tough times never last, but tough people do!" Take care and I'll see you in church!
Grace & Peace
Pastor Clayton