“There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

External Seasons

Nearing the end of the year, we can see and feel the change of the seasons. The leaves have changed color. Holiday merchandise is everywhere. Decorations in our churches reflect a new liturgical year. The air temperature has shifted. And we feel the familiar texture of clothes that were in the back of the closet that we brought back up to the front again.

The change of seasons is tangible.

Internal Seasons

Although we place a lot of focus on what we experience around us, there are numerous common internal changes many of us encounter throughout the year, stemming from life stages, professional challenges, family matters, or the universal experience of hope and pain.

Have you experienced one or more of these role changes this year?

• Did you graduate college and start a job, transitioning from the role of student to the role of professional?

• Did you move and transition from involved community member to unknown resident?

• Did you get married and transition from being on your own to being a spouse?

• Did you get a promotion and transition from the role of co-worker to supervisor?

• Did you have a baby and transition from being a woman who got sleep to being a mother?

• Did you leave your job and transition to being your own boss (and creative director, finance director, and custodian)?

Have you experienced one or more of these emotional changes?

• Did you fall in love, causing you to have butterflies, smile unexpectedly, and not be able to think straight?

• Did a friend or loved one pass away, leaving you hurting from the heavy weight of a near-unbearable loss?

• Did you reach a financial or professional milestone, causing you to reflect back and acknowledge your efforts to accomplish that goal?

• Did you make a mistake or fail professionally, leading you to feel embarrassment, humiliation, or shame?

• Did you gain wisdom and courage, allowing you to view challenging issues and situations with a new perspective?

• Did you endure an illness, causing insecurity about the health and longevity of your body?

As we reflect upon the past year, we can see that we also experienced seasons, which changed us.

A Timeless Song

Seasons have been marked long before the writing of the famous Ecclesiastes verse, a passage so timeless that it was used for the lyrics of The Byrds’ 1965 hit “Turn! Turn! Turn!”, a classic that most of us could sing or at least hum.

For generations, others, like us, have danced at the same celebrations and struggled with the same sorrows often experienced during particular life-changing seasons.  These noteworthy seasons mark our personal growth, the completion of professional education and development, the honoring of certain relationships, and the welcoming and farewell of family members.

Although we may try to create a perfect timeline of what is going to happen and when, we are often reminded that “God has made everything appropriate to its time, but has put the timeless into their hearts so they cannot find out, from beginning to end, the work which God has done” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

He is the Constant

As the end of the calendar year nears, we approach it knowing that another 12 months of external and internal changes await us. And while our surroundings change color and temperature, we will go through our own seasons, including seasons of hope, despair, boldness, loneliness, creativity, and contemplation. Through it all, our loving Father is present: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). In every season, we can turn to him. He is the constant.

Linda A. Burrows is an attorney specializing in trust and estate law in southern California. She studied journalism at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, law at Pepperdine, and is currently pursuing a masters in tax law at Georgetown. Linda is the founder of Soul Soda, a non-profit with the mission of refreshing faith in those, particularly Catholics, who are feeling disconnected from their religious roots. She is a wife and mother of three teens. Linda’s Confirmation name was that of St. Gabriel the Archangel.