Citrus trees are delightful! Visually, I love the contrast of the orange against the green. But my favorite scent in the world is the smell of citrus so picking these babies from the trees and breathing in the fresh citrus is like heaven. No doubt about that.
I find it fascinating that citrus becomes ripe in the winter. Sure you can get it year round in the store, but in Arizona, it is ready to pick in the winter months. I love that just when cold and flu season is naturally high, mother nature blesses us with a little boost in our immune systems growing on our trees.
I’m learning to lean in to what the season offers me.
We were out picking yesterday. Clearly, we have a lot of picking to do, our tangelo tree is buckling under the weight of its fruit (and will be ready for a branch trim soon). We gathered three bags of fruit and squeezed two pitchers of fresh juice.
I think seasons are a beautiful gift. What does the scripture say?
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Life is supposed to ever flow. The things that are right and work for us today may not be so during the next season of our life. Sometimes we rush forward, sometimes we slow down. Sometimes are feelings are joyful and our days are bright, sometimes moments feel dark or challenging. It is all part of the experience of seasons. And God has made everything beautiful in his time.
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.
9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” (Ecclesiastes 3: 1-11)
Life is supposed to ever flow. The things that are right and work for us today may not be so during the next season of our life. Sometimes we rush forward, sometimes we slow down. Sometimes are feelings are joyful and our days are bright, sometimes moments feel dark or challenging. It is all part of the experience of seasons. And God has made everything beautiful in his time.
Like I said, I’m trying to lean into the seasons of my life. I’ve decided in winter months with daylight shorter, I will sleep in more. I need more rest at this time. In the summer months, I will wake up earlier to greet the day and get out. There is value in both and if I follow the natural seasons I get to do both.
It’s the same with my time. I have seasons where I need to say no to so many things and seasons when I can say yes to many more things.
It’s also natural for relationships to experience seasons. And that’s ok! It is normal. Though I don’t much like staying in a “winter” relationship, so when it happens you can bet that I sure am going to work to allow the blooms of spring to come forth and move us back to the fun of summer. But even relationships will ebb and flow.
By experiencing all these different seasons and embracing the changes and the joys of each one, I think our lives will be richer and more fulfilling. And we can trust that each season will provide us with what we need.
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