This time of year
By STEVE SCHROEDER
Parkview Mennonite Brethren Church
At first glance, most of the trees around town look pretty ugly this time of year. Gone are the beautiful green leaves that used to adorn each tree branch and provide needed shade in the summer. Instead, we see bare brown twigs that only catch our eye when they're covered with frost or ice. Flowers and shrubs that used to brighten up our yards now look withered and dead, this time of year.
The same is true with our lawns. They appear tan and dry and dead-looking. The only thing attractive about that is they don't need mowing!
My tendency is to wish we could just get through this time of year. "Let's move on! I want to see buds and flowers and leaves again. And why can't the lawn be as green as the wheat is already?"
But we must not hurry nature along. This is the season of dormancy. It's a time for plants and trees to rest. It's a God-ordained season for doing nothing! That's a concept that goes against our grain.
We pride ourselves in being producers. We want to be efficient time managers. We admire the person who claims to always be busy. "They must be very important," we think to ourselves. We're even tempted to measure our own self-worth by how much we've accomplished in each day, or in our lifetime. Maybe that's why doing nothing sounds so wrong to us.
I can't help but wonder, as I observe all the "lifeless" trees, whether their Creator also wanted us to have seasons of dormancy. After all, didn't He stop and do nothing for a whole day after working hard for six?
Imagine how much more productive we would be if we took planned days and moments to stop and rest? We all need down days — days to rest and be "unproductive" in the world's eyes. Even Jesus, when He walked this earth, took time to get away from the crowds so He could be refreshed by His
Father. We would do well to learn from Him and from those "ugly trees."
Why don't you join me in allowing this time of year to be your personal reminder of the need for dormancy and rest? Go ahead and take a few hours some Saturday to enjoy a walk and to think about some deeper things in life. Your "to do list" may not get done that day, but you will be refreshed. Set Sunday aside as a day of dormancy — to rest, to worship God, to be with family and friends — without having to accomplish tasks or finish lists. It will re-energize you for those busier days.
And when you walk across your brown lawn, or glance up at those leafless trees, just smile inside, as you remember that sometimes, doing nothing is really the best preparation for doing something that is attractive and beautiful.
