This is one of those times in the year when we hear sentences that start with “I can’t believe…” As in, “I can’t believe August is almost over!” or “I can’t believe it’s Labor Day weekend already.” Variations on the theme include questions like “where did the summer go?” and statements about time speeding up as age increases. It happens every year, this turn of the season from summer to fall, but it sneaks up on us just the same.
Maybe smaller, seasonal transitions have been standing out in higher relief of late because there is so very much change and transition happening all around us all the time. Futurist Amy Webb has said that everyone alive right now can be categorized in one big group, not by monikers like Millennials, or Gen X, but with the label Generation T. No matter who we are or what the makeup of our lives looks like, we are all having to cope with change and disruption, with transition, on a massive scale.
Seasonal, institutional, personal or cultural, how do we accept this reality and stay grounded at the same time? Prayer helps. So do relationships, and commitments that pull our focus outward and into the present moment. And, of course, we remember that our salvation history begins with change; with creation and the evolution of individuals and communities. God is, by nature, dynamic and God is present in it all.
Resistance to change is one option, but at the end of the day (or season) it’s wasted energy. So as we move from summer to fall, and in all our shifting experiences in this changing world, let us pray for clarity, presence, and hearts that are open to God’s new life.
