There Is A Season, Turn, Turn, Turn

It’s so hard to believe that September is already almost over, and October is right around the corner. I love the Autumn, the promise of change, the crisp New England air, and I am looking forward to the opening of the new Parish, Saint Therese. While we work out a few different options for our location, I am optimistic that we will begin in just a few short weeks.

If you think about it, the Autumn really summarizes life in general, because its so filled with uncertainty. The season expresses the same uncertainty, one day it rains, the next day its cold, the next day its warm, and one morning we are driving down 95 and realize that the leaves had managed to changed while we were pre-occupied with the rest of life.

So much change so quickly is frustrating, also just like life. The Restaurant business in Rhode Island is coming out of its slow season. The students are all coming back, everyone has finished their summer plans, and people are socializing in the city again. Bartenders and Servers who staff the establishments downtown, are looking back on a summer of wonderful memories, and a mountain of unpaid and past due bills. We look forward to the promise of a busy fall, try to save money for Christmas, and before we know the summer is back once again. Every step is dependent on something else.

That’s what life is like for everyone if you really think about it. We have all these plans, and those plans coming to fruition are dependent on something beyond our control. That new car is dependent on that raise they we are “supposed to get”. That Romantic ski weekend we are trying to book for February is dependent on still being with that person when the time comes. We put our faith in something uncertain, but if those things fall through, we have to turn to plan B.

In the First Reading at Mass today we hear the cries of Job. Job was a good and upright man, who had a life filled with many blessings. One by one those blessings are taken away, Job remains faithful however to His Lord, seeing it all as a test of faith. With each loss he would say, “Well, I may have lost ‘this‘, but at least I still have ‘that‘.” Then he would loose “that” too. His friends and those around him mock him for that faith. Finally, in today’s readings he shouts “Curse the day on which I was born!” He reaches the point where he has absolutely nothing left, and finally breaks his silence in a moment of frustration. Job’s faith is rewarded, and all his previous blessings, including his health are multiplied.

You see through all the changes and the frustrations of this life, eventually things will fall into place. . . The place God wants them. Eventually that promotion will come, if it’s His will. Eventually all our dating attempts will pay off and we will meet the person God has in mind for us. Eventually that job will come through, that opportunity will arise, eventually that seemingly endless period of waiting that we are in will come to an end.

In the meanwhile, let’s be more like Job, and when we experience one negative change, let’s remember the blessings we still do have. As the season changes, let’s take note of the leaves changing, rather then noticing it after the fact. Let’s enjoy the crisp air of the new season. Let’s be patient with life’s constant shifts and changes. Dealing with the challenges we can’t handle is tough enough, let’s avoid creating situations that we can avoid.