Seasons of Life

I captured this image last fall, about a mile from our home.  Looking through my files today it reminded me of the fact that most of us will be required to pass through all of the seasons on this journey that we call life.  We "Spring" into this world naked and helpless.  We rely on our parents for everything that sustains our life, food, shelter, clothing, love, protection, education, discipline, etc.
At some point we enter into what most of us believe will be an Endless Summer of life.  We're ten feet tall and bullet proof.  We're going to live forever and we're never going to get old.  As the saying goes, "We have the world by the tail with a downhill pull."  We are young, energetic, enthusiastic, and in the prime of our lives.
The autumn of our lives seems to slip up on us almost without warning.  We are at the peak of our earning potential.  We are looking forward to retirement.  One thing we notice is that we are physically unable to do some of the things that we could do during that Endless Summer.  I took a test on the internet the other day to measure one's mental age.  The results indicated that I was 19!  Really?  What nineteen year old has a pacemaker and two bad knees.  It just proves that at some point in the aging process our bodies are no longer able to execute what our brains can dream up!
As winter sets in, we realize that age is, in fact, taking it's toll on our bodies and minds.  We are losing our friends to eternity and we have more doctors on our speed dial than friends.  Looking back, we will ask ourselves, "Did I live my life well?  Did I make a difference?"
In the last five days I have attended two memorial services.  A friend of ours lost her father-in-law, and our sister-in-law lost her mother.  Both of those individuals that are gone were members of what Tom Brokaw declared to be "The Greatest Generation".  They were children of the depression.  They saved this world from the tyranny of Nazi Germany, and sacrificed the Endless Summer of their lives to accomplish that task.  They came home from WWII and built highways, schools, raised families, and made this the greatest nation on earth.  Now, they are leaving us at an alarming rate.  We will never see their kind again...ever!  While the two individuals that passed away last week never met each other, they had one thing in common.  They had an unshakable faith in their Lord and Savior.  They made a daily effort to live a life that was pleasing to the God of all creation.  As a result, both were loving, kind, generous, and always thinking of others.  They knew the difference between right and wrong, moral and immoral, good and evil and the consequences of each choice.  Both of the departed made a difference in the lives of their families all the way down to their grandchildren and great grandchildren.  They both lived their lives well.  Their families and friends are going to miss these who have passed, but those who are left behind will carry the influence of these dear people as long as they live.
As I said, most of us will be required to pass through all of the seasons of life before stepping out into eternity.  Eventually, we will lose the battle with age, disease, or some other malady that will take this mortal life from us.  However we can have the same victory over death that these two dear souls enjoy.  There is Victory in Jesus.