In Season for the Reason

I grew up surrounded by four seasons: spring, summer, autumn/fall, and winter. Each season has it's own characteristics by which we can recognize either of those. I apologize to my readers who live in places where there are no four seasons—equatorial and polar regions. Some places have also strange weather patterns.
We expect a season to come in due time.  Each season associates with certain things: different weather, blossom, sawing and planting, animal behavior, harvest, and holidays. If something happens during the season that is not supposed to take place, we consider it unnatural. 
The Bible says in Genesis 8:22, "While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease": in Proverbs 26:1 it says, "Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool." 
The Scriptures also mention another season—spiritual. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers, Psalm 1:3. There are times/seasons when we should yield the fruit. 
I have been thinking how the Lord appointed four seasons. Each of those seasons is marked by special features.

Winter 

Winter is the coldest season of the year.People wear the warmest clothes. Snow covers many places. Blizzards and flurries occur. In many places people doing various activities: skiing, skating, sledding, snowboarding, making a snowman, having snowball fights, and whatever else you can do with snow.
Most of the time you need to dress warm for the winter. We cover everything except faces. 
More people fall during the season because of icy surfaces. Sometimes thin layer of snow covers the ice. People walk over the surface and slip, You can end up at a hospital.
During blizzards you have to be especially careful: drive slow, don't go outside unless absolutely needed, stay away from power lines, and be prepared for power outage. 
There are no agricultural work in fields, no animals in the meadows.
In older days people relied on food that they managed to store from the harvest. People would prepare for winter by storing food. Winter is the season of waiting.   
In many cultures winter is associated with death. You look around—nothing seems to grow many animals are hiding in their dens. Lakes look devoid of fish. Most of the trees and shrubs don't have leaves. 
However, there is life during winter. The ice is only at the top part of the water. Deep water is warm enough for fish to swim. Trees slow down their metabolism in order to conserve the energy. The animals are hibernating in their dens. Seeds are deep in the ground and some are germinating. 
During spiritual winter it looks like nothing is going on. We need more comfort during winter. Any activity requires us to gear up more. We want for it to be over as soon as possible despite the opportunities we have that are unique to the season.    
Even though we don't see it, the work is ting place to prepare for the spring. 

           

Spring

Here comes the season  which many people love. The weather warms up. The snow melts. You see firs flowers and first green leaves. Spring gives many people hope for something new. Farmers getting ready to go out in fields. The soil is ready for agriculture.

Spring is the time for new life. Animals giving birth their young. 

This season is the start for renewal in nature and for sowing the seeds. There would be no harvest without sowing. 
Spring starts with mud and bare ground, after the snow melts. Suddenly muddy puddles surround us. We see bare trees and dead grass. However, it will all change in a few weeks. 

Spring is a very busy season. It's also a season of cleaning. Most people are getting rid off their old things. The air is more fresh. Newness of life is the spring.   
First bloom comes in spring: trees, gentle, tender flowers, and shrubs. Birds are singing their song and chirping. 

Most people love spring because it brings hope and new start. Great break from winter. It also makes you looking forward to the summer.
When spring comes, at first it doesn't look pretty: puddles, wilted grass, bare ground, and mud. But we know that new plants will come
Most people love spring for its freshness and newness. We anticipate summer while enjoying the spring. 
Spiritual spring is the time for renewal and fresh start. We often start new projects. We're actively sawing the seeds. We feel refreshed and well-rested. It is a lot of work. If we miss sawing, we have to wait for the next season. People don't expect harvest/results during sawing. Sometimes we expect harvest during spring. Quite often the season is to short or too long. Spring is the season for intensive work that brings results in the future. 

Summer

In many cases when we hear the word summer we think of heat. Sometimes the heat becomes so intense that we sweat. Summer is the time for hard work in the fields. During summer we enjoy some harvest, including berries. The harvest during summer is tender. But it's not the main harvest. Summer has the largest amount of flowers.
Summer has long warm days and shorter nights. Many crops are under attack from different pests. Plants also need to be watered. Some places experience droughts. Sometimes summer is so hot that people stay away from direct sun. Doctors recommend to drink more water. People apply sunscreen. During summer we protect ourselves from heat and sun. Insects also become aggressive and sting. We welcome summer rain with joy. 
Summer is the season of intense growth. Plants need many nutrients. Gardens, fields, and patches  require much work: watering, weeding, and other responsibilities.  Watering has to be done at the right time, otherwise we can damage the leaves and can kill the roots. 
During spiritual summer we face much heat. We see much growth and development. 
We can do many different things during summer. While many people use this time for taking holidays, there is a lot of work in nature. Bees are busy in meadows and fields.  Birds and animals are raising new generations. Many animals eat a lot of food. The fat serves as energy source for winter. 
I remember how my grandmother and I used to pick up bugs from potato plants during summer. My grandfather used to say that summer is the most dangerous season—so many tings can destroy crops. We worked hard during summer in the garden and small land plot that we had. Sometimes we spent ore than eight hours per day working on the land. 
Spiritual summer involves a lot of work and a lot of attacks. Summer is the season of hard work.  We face many uncomfortable situations that require us to act fast, otherwise we will lose the harvest. We need to work hard. Sometimes we will get hurt and we need time to heal. It looks as if everything going on at once and life gets very intense.

Autumn/Fall

In North America we call it fall. In the UK people call it autumn. It's the last season before winter. This is the season of harvest. many people are out in the fields gathering harvest. Many cultures celebrate the harvest. Some people have fares and festivals dedicated to the harvest.

Usually autumn is fairly warm in the beginning, but it gets colder as season progresses. 

Fall brings us bright colors: yellow, orange, and red. Leaves change their color gradually. 
The season has beautiful start, but ends in cold and bareness. In many places we may encounter warm days. Sometimes these day get very hot; and then it settles into an autumn mode. We try to enjoy the warm days as much as we can.  
So many of us like early-mid fall/autumn.Children run through the leaves. Have you ever picked up the bundle of fallen leaves and threw them up into the air? We see loads of harvest in baskets, carts, and wagons.We are excited about pumpkins. We bid farewell to the southward birds. 
Sooner than later we see bare ground, deprived of the vegetation. The leaves decompose and turn into mud. Few weeks ago we walked over colorful foliage and enjoyed it. Now we are walking all over the mud. But the dead leaves give nutrients to the plants and soil. What looks ugly has purpose. Something we try to avid so desperately nourishes the earth. 
At some point the rain comes: cold rain. It brings the wind. It's time to dress warm. Soon we notice first snow flakes.
Spiritual fall is the season of contrast. We see the results, the harvest, of our work. We welcome the relief from spiritual heat. We enjoy the reward our work brings, the ones we get while on earth. We noticed the increase in spiritual maturity. Others notice the results of our work. It's impossible to hide the harvest. We celebrate the results. We get comfortable by indulging in our achievements until we notice that the ground around us is bare. We notice that some things had gone, some missed opportunities. We bid farewell. We realize that another chapter/part of our lives is over. We have winter ahead of us.