The View from My Window

Month by month, season by season, the view from my window is constantly changing.

In January the trees are bare and the grass is faded, stubbly, brown.

In March there is evidence of new life. Tiny buds have appeared on branches. Flowers struggle to poke through rain-sodden soil still tinged with early morning frost. Birds have returned and are busy searching for food and building nests. The distant hillside has a faint green tint—new grass growing through last year’s brown remains.

By May the buds have matured into flowers. New leaves are sprouting daily. The trees and bushes buzz with activity. It seems as though a lush green carpet has been rolled out to fill every blank space. The hillside is alive with movement. In one direction, newborn lambs huddle close to their mothers. In the other, cows feed on rich pastureland.

July. Every tree in sight is covered with a thick canopy of leaves. The flowerbeds in my back garden are in full bloom, yielding splashes of yellows and pinks, reds and whites. The emerald green lawn is speckled with small white daisies with bright yellow faces. Songbirds flit from branch to branch.

September. Green leaves are turning gold and red. Flowers are fading. The wistful sound of tall grass rustling in the breeze heralds the end of a season.

October. Leaves are dropping from the trees. A few flowers struggle to survive, but more of their petals are blown away with each chilly blast of autumn wind.

November. The hillside is empty once more. The animals have been taken to shelter, and the trees are bare except for a light dusting of snow. Barely a sliver of green remains.

Change is nature’s way. May we welcome change with as much dignity and grace as the world around us.

—

Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV – For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

Daniel 2:21 ESV – He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;

Genesis 8:22 ESV – While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.