Time to spring from autumn to spring!©

Hope you’re enjoying these spring days as much as I am. The peach blossoms and Japanese tulips, followed by the azaleas and dogwoods, are a wonderful annual reminder to me that God is still in control of the seasons of life as well as the seasons of the year. And here in the south, we’re so spoiled. I still remember the COLD winter of 1971 in Detroit when we decided to move to Perry. My wife and I thought we had died and gone to heaven. We traded in our snow shovels for garden shovels. I’m still in awe of the wonderful weather we get to enjoy year-round in the sunny south, but especially in the spring.

But it’s not that way for many seniors. In spite of the beautiful spring season blossoming before our very eyes, many seniors feel as though they’re living in a perpetual “autumn” waiting for the undertaker to finish the final chapter of life. For sure, none of us is immortal, and sooner or later, we do have to face that final role call; it’s as much a part of life as being born, getting married, having children and raising a family. But to reach that “final autumn” before your time is not a good thing.

In fact, it’s life draining and can be a self-fulfilling prophecy to reach the final autumn of life before you should. How do I know? Because I was there 20 years ago! My world—health, career, reputation and income—had come crashing down around me and put me in an “autumn frame of mind” that dragged on for a couple of years. I felt much older than my years in those days, and it wasn’t fun. There was no SPRING in my life no matter what the season of the year was.

So how did that autumn season turn into SPRING? That’s a great question, and I wish I could say there was one “magic” thing that worked; there wasn’t, of course. But here is what did work: an unwavering faith in God, even during the darkest autumn days. And on one of those “autumn” Sundays, I went to a new (to me at least) church while my wife took the kids to our regular church. As I walked in the door, almost an hour late, the Holy Spirit of God whispered in the ear of my spirit, “I have something very special here for you today.” Wow! I had never experienced anything like that before. And sure enough, the visiting pastor, whose name I do not know, spoke from Hebrews 10:9 where it says, “…He taketh away the first to establish the second.” Or, in other words, the pastor was saying that God sometimes orchestrates circumstances in our lives to move us from one season of life to another more productive one.

He didn’t say it would be easy, and it wasn’t. In fact I still remember an illustration he used: when you transplant a tree you have to cut the roots. And if a tree could feel, that would hurt! (How many sermons do you remember from 20 years ago?) I admit that cutting the roots of those things that were important to me hurt. But, that sermon allowed me to see my “autumn” as a temporary season, not a permanent one. It ultimately led me to a new SPRING such that I never dreamed was possible. Now, every day is filled with new life and opportunities! So here is my hope for you if you’re prematurely in the “autumn of life” during this beautiful spring season … that you will trust totally in God and allow Him to breathe a new SPRING into your life.

Thanks for reading All About Seniors … see you next week.

P.S., I first posted this column 10 years ago in the spring of 2011, 10 years after “My premature autumn.” It is just as true now, 20 years after that “autumn.” PTL!

Bill Milby is a Director of Visiting Angels® of Central Georgia, a non-medical, living assistance service for seniors. If you have questions or comments about this column you can reach him at william.mercylink@gmail.com or search for us at https://www.facebook.com/VisitingAngelsofCentralGA/.

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