The Changing Seasons of Our Hearts

Here in the northern hemisphere our week began with the arrival of the fall equinox. Meanwhile, my Bolivian friends are happy to receive the warming temperatures of the spring season in their world down under! Each season wherever we are marks the beginning of a new phase of the calendar year and more importantly from my perspective a time for spiritual growth.

As it was I had the opportunity to spend time with my friend Tim Huff on his radio show Grand Central Radio to chat about themes related to my recent book Passing Guests: Spiritual Musings on the Seasons of Faith. To kick off the show Tim asked me to read an excerpt form the Preface to my book which introduces the overarching theme of paying attention to the inner movements of the Spirit in time (which I have reproduced below):

The Psalter speaks to us of the changing seasons of our hearts. Wintertime recognizes the season when God may seem distant and (perhaps) even absent. We cry out “Where are you God?” but only silence bounces back from the heavenly spheres. The springtime of the heart rejoices in the preciousness of new life and the glory of God displayed in youth, verdant fields and the first fruits of harvest. The warmth of the summer winds reflects the season of God’s presence and abundance in our lives. The psalms of autumn observe the beauty of God’s creation but also the reality that time is fleeting and every day is to be welcomed as gift. All of these varying times are there for us in the hymn book of the Old Testament and are available for our reflection, contemplation, and inspiration.

The photo on the cover of the book is a shot of a lovely maple adjacent to our farm in PEC. The shot captures the same tree in each of the four seasons (moving from left to right) ranging from the snowy, barren winter through the emerging growth of springtime to the verdancy of summer and ending with the glorious colours of the fall season. Metaphorically our lives also pass through the contrasting seasons of faith and can appear at whatever chronological age we inhabit. We may be in the summer power years of life but spiritually feel like we are adrift in the snowfields of the Canadian Arctic. Likewise, we may be in the autumn years chronologically but be caught up in an exciting project that feels more like the heat of the summer.

My prayer for you is that whatever season of faith you are passing through in this moment of time you may know Abba’s reassuring embrace of love and that the Spirit of our Lord will never, never, never let you go.