About life's seasons ...

Hey everybody, my name's Matt Summerfield and I'm on one of my regular walks with my dog and just thought I'd reflect a little bit.

As you see behind me what appears to be these muddy fields. Well, when lockdown started, remember we were back in March and these fields were pretty muddy then; it was spring time or we were coming out of winter into spring and the farmers were just about to turn over the field and plant and sow. And between now and then this field was a harvest. In fact, it was literally just a harvest last week. It was completely and utterly different. And then they harvested everything. And now literally in the last few days they've turned everything over and it's as you can see right now.

And it kind of got me thinking about that life, as we know obviously comes in seasons that we have summer and winter, well autumn and winter and spring and things change rapidly in those seasons. And just like life, like sometimes you feel like you're in summer and sometimes you feel like you're in winter and sometimes you feel like you're coming towards winter. And sometimes you feel like you coming towards summer. And I guess what that means for me in this moment is like, if you're listening to this and you feel like you're in a winter moment that life is tough, it's being upside down. There's like nothing going on. Life just feels hard. Then I want to encourage you because summer is coming, winter doesn't last forever. Those tough seasons of life that we're in, they are hard but they don't dictate the whole of our future. Better days will be coming.

And without wanting to be negative, if you feel like you're in summer right now, and everything's great then the reality is that winter is gonna come too because life is full of good moments and tough moments. And all the while in the midst of either of those things, good things can still be going on, good stuff underneath the surface. And so farmer has basically done all this. It looks rubbish, but basically he's preparing the ground for the next sowing, that's gonna come in months to come.

And so whatever you're going through today, I hope and pray that you will know that better days are coming. And even if tough days are coming, that good things can happen in the midst of that.

And obviously as someone who's a Christian, I believe that God is at work in all the seasons. In the seasons of summer and spring, in the seasons of autumn and winter. God is at work and he's sowing and he's reaping and he's doing good stuff in and through our lives even when we're aware not of it. So for me, one of the big questions I often ask myself is, 'what season am I in right now? And how do I respond most positively with the help of other people and with the help of God in the season that I'm in to get me through it, to whatever's coming next'. So, hope that helps.