Seasons


I heard a story today that made me think of 4 photos that are hanging at the Frego family farm.  Each of the photos was taken from the same spot, and each captures the vineyard in a different season.

In the winter, the vines are gray-brown, and any leaf that had once been on them has since fallen off or turned brown.  If you were only to see the vines in winter, it would be hard to imagine them ever bearing fruit.


In early spring, Jim and the other Frego men spend a weekend going through the vineyard and cutting off all of the old growth.  What remains of the vines are barren stumps.  However, shortly thereafter, new green tendrils begin to reach out, and leaves and buds make their first appearance.  

 

Spring is a season of anxious hope.  Since late frosts can kill new buds, each night we watch the forecast.  If cold weather is predicted, we consider the possibility of a lost crop.  However, as the weather begins to warm, hope for a good harvest begins to grow.

 

In Summer, vines are heavy with large leaves and ripening fruit.  Grapes clusters fill the vines, and as the family gathers in early August for their annual reunion, the vineyard looks nothing like it did just 6 months earlier.

 

Then finally in the fall, the grapes turn purple, and their aroma is heavy and sweet.  It is not uncommon to see my husband wandering through the rows, grabbing handfuls of grapes - and popping them into his mouth.

 

The pictures at the farm show how each season is soooo very different from any of the others, and I think about how unfair it would be to make a judgement based solely on just one.  

 

Seasons of life are a lot like that too.  Sometimes things look barren, but in other times - the fruitful blessings are abundant.  Again, we would be foolish to judge our lives based on where we are at a point in time. 

 

And when people are going through different seasons, I think we need to be willing to offer kindness and grace.  We must remember that HOW someone acts or speaks during a difficult time is not at all representative of WHO they are; and that to pass a judgement based on a difficult season, would be like making a decision about the fruit after only seeing the vines in winter…

 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reminds us:  There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.“

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