'Tis the Season


'Tis the season...
Bp. Epps noted that there are many types of seasons: environmental (spring, winter, summer, fall), sports, and holidays. True. Added to this are hunting seasons: deer, turkey, dove, and pheasant; the list goes on.
We enjoy produce more or less based on whether or not it is in season. There is a world of difference between flavorless out-of-season produce and a mellon or tomato ripened on the vine, picked from a nearby field, sliced and served farm-to-table.
To everything, there is a season.
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
Songwriter, Pete Seeger, wove these well-worn words into the song "Turn, Turn, Turn." Seeger added "I swear it's not too late," to the last line, "a time of peace." I trust it is never too late.
What are the implications for "A time for peace" or "Tis the Season to be Jolly?" Do peace and joy have an offseason? I hope not. We find joy and peace year round, but Christmas is the season when the intensity peaks like a vine-ripened tomato bursting with flavor.

~ LowTide explorer, Carolyn Fjeran


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"War of the rubies ..."

Image
LowTide Morning - August 25, 2018 "War of the rubies ..." On my deck, a cherry tomato is climbing, clinging to life inside a wire cage. The vine looks like sin, but the hummingbirds love perching on the top of the cage as if they are king of the hill. Male hummingbirds are aggressive and territorial. I wonder, do birds have testosterone? I have a couple of ruby-throated hummers going at it in my backyard. "Your mama..." "I know you are, but what am I?" The fight is on. They dart, dive, twist, and smack talk. I just refilled the feeder yesterday. There is plenty of nectar for all. For now. But they don't understand that there is an endless supply. I suppose they fight for what they fear is expendable. I was about to say there is no need for all this fighting. But who knows what tomorrow will hold; I might forget to refill the feeder. Yes, that has been known to happen. Don't judge. Just as children fighting for love and attention, hummers don't ...
Read more

PIECES OF A PUZZLE

Image
January 31, 2016 Ann Crammond, second executive director of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, was looking forward to a post-retirement trip to the Antarctica. The trip was scheduled one year after her 11 year tenure as executive director. She was an avid horticulturist featured on Atlanta's WXIA TV "Noonday Gardener." In her lighthearted style, she quipped that she was looking forward to the Antarctica because, "No one would ask her to identify any plants." Understood. There are thousands of plants in cultivation and exponentially more in the wild. Gardeners are prone to share bits and pieces of a plant hoping for a positive ID. Horticulturists can be like a dog with a bone if they cannot immediately provide an answer. Plant keys are an old tried-and-true method, but slow and laborious. Today, one of my favorite gardeners presented a lovely clipping of a shrub neither of us could name. Next came an internet search for a plant key. In the process, I found an intrigu...
Read more