Seasons

According to scripture as well as life and living, everything is divided into seasons.

Perhaps the most famous season, the Christmas season; when friends/family/associates spend money they don't have on things that people don't particularly need or want...just to be able give someone something. There was a time I found on this heathen practice, having turned a holy day into a holiday, the most important day of the year celebrating the birth of Christ, into giving and getting but I changed my mind about that years ago. God, the greatest giver gave those he chose, life; and Jesus has given us, through his sacrifice, eternal life. This miracle must be evident even to unbelievers, those who never put a foot inside a church house.

Just before Christmas, and rapidly overshadowing Christmas and spending and spreeing, Halloween. When even children from christian families and churches go about their community in costume, "trick or treat, trick or treat". I understand more money is spent on Halloween than on Christmas. I will never understand how a church can celebrate a satanic event.

Then, there is the Easter season, the 2nd most important holiday/holy day of the year, when Christians celebrate a risen savior. What do rabbits laying colored eggs or chocolate eggs have to do with Easter? And yet, as with Santa Claus, as with ugly haints, perhaps there is a place for such in a child's life. As poor as we were, my mother would go to town and get us a chocolate egg with our name on it. This is a wonderful memory, but let's get to real seasons. Those of us in the USA, at least most of the USA, have real seasons to the year, spring, summer, fall and winter with the guidelines of temperature change.

Spring season; new life, seed in the ground, the ever lasting hope of a harvest. Summer; heat and the frustration of outdoor labor, sweat, which is the best anti-toxicity remedy in the world. Most of today's young people have never known a real summer job...sweating in the fields...even sweating cutting grass. Like the golfer who wants exercise, they want to ride a lawn mower just as a golfer rides a golf cart. I know I am peculiar. I have peculiarities you do not know anything about but I always cut my grass with a push mower. No engine at all, just my pushing it. I never put up a Christmas tree, not one; but for those who want to spend their money on trees and lights to celebrate my saviors birth, that is their business. Some communities are completely lit up with 1000s of lights spread over houses. All that equipment/light bulbs/electricity, and they probably don't give anything for God's work such as the needs all around them, hungry children, etc.

Then there is the flu season when people spend so much money in Dr's offices, hospitals, fighting a "wee beasty" which gives them much suffering for a few weeks. Just taking supplements and basic hygiene would eliminate most flu. Yes, I know, your Dr has probably told you that if you eat a good diet you do not need supplements. I know how little we Dr's are taught about supplements. Today's soil is depleted of most important elements. Plants will grow, USA or Brazil or Mexico but they do not have the nutrients needed to keep you healthy and, the animal products you eat, meat, no longer has the nutrition which you need. Our founding fathers could grow beautiful, healthy, nutritious vegetables in soil which had not been depleted. They ate meat from animals which were healthy. Even ate healthy seafood.

Perhaps the most radical season of change that I have witnessed in my lifetime, the political/presidential election season every 4 years. The less important, mid election, every 2 years. The founding fathers did not seek office. After much encouragement, they would just stand for office (stand) supported by people who knew them, knew their integrity/ability/honesty. Today's politicians are like dragging the bottom of a hog pen and as Joseph Kennedy said, (father of President Kennedy) it takes 3 things to get elected president, 3 rules. First is money, 2nd is money and 3rd is more money. Most political offices from the local courthouse to the state house, to the white house, are bought and paid for. From the lowly local commissioner, alderman/mayor, to the legislative senator or representative...all you have to do is win an election 1 time and you are set for life. My friend, governor, Terry Sanford, then senator, then president of Duke University, got rich...not from politics or anything else he had done with his life, rather, being appointed to so many corporate positions on boards. The lowliest corporation pays their trustees at least 1$00,000 and most former politicians sit on several. Plus, former presidents/vice presidents/senators/representatives all get wonderful retirement checks. The Clinton's claim they had no money when they left the white house. It is amazing how rich they got afterward just giving short speeches before wealthy people.

Ecclesiastes 3 King James Version (KJV) 3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. King James Version (KJV) Most of us who live long enough will live through all these seasons. There is nothing wrong with laughter, nothing wrong with weeping. Death is a matter of life. The mortality rate is still 100% and we all need the experience of seasons...feeling hot, feeling cold, feeling happy, feeling sad, disappointments, celebrations. Life is not about falling but about learning to pick ourselves up when we do.