Anyone who knows me, knows how much I hate winter…yes, it is a very strong word, but it is true. There is nothing about winter that I like~ not the snow, cold, ice, freezing rain, not the way the trees look after a fallen snow; not a fire in the fireplace; nothing. I hate winter! My favorite season is summer. I would live in summer all year long~ hot, sunny days; sweat; pools; l-o-n-g days~ all of it! I love it! I tend to remember all the wonderful things about the summer and all the yucky things about the winter!
Well, our marriages go through seasons in cycles, just like nature. And wouldn’t we all say, “I hate winter”. Who wants the winter season to come in a marriage? I really LOVE the summer season in marriage and I could live there all the time, but that’s not realistic.
Every marriage goes through seasons~ summer, fall, winter, and spring and just like nature, we go through each season more than once in our married lives. We want to learn how to celebrate and embrace each season~ to find the beauty in all the seasons.
Let’s start with winter. What are some characteristics of this season in nature? It is the coldest season; the days are the shortest & nights are the longest; birds migrate south; some animals hibernate; some animals store food to prepare for winter; snow insulates perennial plants where its roots are protected from the harsh elements; new growths are being prepared underground even though the plant looks dead on the outside. In winter there is a process by which plants become acclimated to cold weather and thus become “hardened”.
Has your marriage experienced a winter season? Don’t you wish that you could migrate south during that season, just to escape it all! Greg & I went to Cancun last January to escape the natural season of winter and the “winter” season we were in. We needed a new perspective~ “to store up some food to come back to the winter season”. It is important in the winter season to not “acclimate to the cold weather and thus become hardened”. How would you describe the winter season? In your experience what has that looked like?
Well, our marriages go through seasons in cycles, just like nature. And wouldn’t we all say, “I hate winter”. Who wants the winter season to come in a marriage? I really LOVE the summer season in marriage and I could live there all the time, but that’s not realistic.
Every marriage goes through seasons~ summer, fall, winter, and spring and just like nature, we go through each season more than once in our married lives. We want to learn how to celebrate and embrace each season~ to find the beauty in all the seasons.
Let’s start with winter. What are some characteristics of this season in nature? It is the coldest season; the days are the shortest & nights are the longest; birds migrate south; some animals hibernate; some animals store food to prepare for winter; snow insulates perennial plants where its roots are protected from the harsh elements; new growths are being prepared underground even though the plant looks dead on the outside. In winter there is a process by which plants become acclimated to cold weather and thus become “hardened”.
Has your marriage experienced a winter season? Don’t you wish that you could migrate south during that season, just to escape it all! Greg & I went to Cancun last January to escape the natural season of winter and the “winter” season we were in. We needed a new perspective~ “to store up some food to come back to the winter season”. It is important in the winter season to not “acclimate to the cold weather and thus become hardened”. How would you describe the winter season? In your experience what has that looked like?
Thankfully, spring comes. Spring is a season of new growth; rebirth, renewal, regrowth. New plants spring forth with new blossoms. Each day length increases. However, there is unstable weather during the springtime; warm air invades while the cold air is still pushing through. Flooding is most common during this time of the year because of snowmelt and rains.
When did your marriage last experience a spring season? What did that look like for your marriage? Spring, in the marriage relationship is beautiful because there is a freshness. Spring is most typical in the beginning of the marriage union~ new life; new growth; new blossoms are brought forth. Even in this season, there is a chance of “unstable” weather. As the warm air increases, the cold air (left over from the winter season) collides with it and issues can arise. But take heart, summer is coming!!!
Summer, the BEST season of all, according to Kristen! In nature, you know that it is the warmest season; the days are the longest & nights are the shortest; vacations are typical in this season; the ‘lazy days of summer’~ a relaxing nature; everything is in full bloom represented by green life; rain, thunderstorms bring water & life to plants.
What does summer look like in your marriage? We love the summer season~ we enjoy one another. It seems that nothing can touch us! We are well-watered and the blooms are full. But, because it is a relaxing season and the ‘lazy days of summer’ are upon us, we can lose our focus and not be on guard and alert to the enemy’s attacks. Even in the summer, we need to be soaked in the Son, interceding for one another; enjoying the time, but being alert so the next season doesn’t take you off guard.
The lazy days of summer move into the busyness of the Fall season. Fall is described as “harvest”; leaves change color and fall from the trees; football season; school starts; harvest time for the farmers; temps are warm, then cooling.
Greg & I experienced the harvest season last fall when our oldest daughter, Lindsay, got married. As a married couple, that was probably the highlight of our lives together so far! The training, discipling, loving, investing (time & money), teaching, disciplining, etc. that parents do with their children culminates at the altar. And to be part of that amazing transfer from infant to child to teen to adult to wife~ unbelievable. There are not words to describe the joy of the harvest season.
At what time in your marriage have you experienced the harvest? What have you sown that you have reaped? Or will reap? There are many examples of the harvest.
Every season will come & go throughout the marriage relationship....we will ebb & flow and not necessarily will the seasons come in consecutive order like they do in nature. We want to trust God & His promises in each season~ knowing that He is in the season with us. The goal is to thrive in every season of marriage!
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