To Every Thing There is a Season,

and a time to every purpose under the heavens: Ecc. 3:1



I've been wondering lately about the seasons. I wonder as I move into the next phase of my life what is life going to be like, but these thoughts are not so much about the seasons of our lives, but the seasons of the year. The days are shorter and are darker earlier and get darker sooner. Yet we try to maintain the same life we do in the summer with long days. Is this good for us?

Physically what is the toll we are taking on ourselves by not slowing down in the winter? Personally I have just finished coaching a fall sport. This entails teaching and managing a group of athletes for two plus hours each day. On game days it is at least four plus the travel time if we play in another town. In the beginning of the year this is all done in the sunlight. But as the year progresses we eventually end our games and practices in the dark. In the spring with baseball it's the opposite. We start the season in the shorter, colder part of the year, usually finishing practices and games under the lights. This is all on top of a full teaching schedule of five classes in a day.

We, actually other coaches, have coached the baseball team through a fall season and continue now to practice. There will be a Christmas break and the spring season begins when we return in January. Games begin in February. I always find in interesting that Major League baseball begins in April when our high school season in winding down.

At home Maureen has planted the majority of the winter garden. We will enjoy this bounty I'm sure. But why can we grow now? Even though the last two nights have dipped below freezing, we still have a moderate climate in the winter. We can go outside this winter on days that mostly will be sunny. We won't be digging ourselves out of a snowbank to go to work. We will complain about the fog and some frost, but relatively speaking our winter will be nice. So we try to continue our summer habits.

But is that good for us. Would we be better off to "hibernate" like the bears? I don't mean literally crawl in bed and sleep. But what if we slowed down with our activities? Shut down and let our bodies recuperate. Just because we have electricity, doesn't mean we have to use it.

You can still be productive. I'm thinking of spending this time preparing by repairing. Cleaning and fixing tools and equipment. Do one odd job around the house a day that I've been putting off. Inventorying tools and supplies and planning for future purchases. But limit the amount of time working.

Certainly this would help me, and I hope and pray I will follow through. The hectic pace of school will be with me as long as I teach. But it is up to me to limit the rest to help me have a healthy life. I need to follow my teacher and rest on the seventh day.