“A Time for Every Season”

Like many sports, (for the most part anyway) golf has a season. Yes, golf has a season – which is when the weather and course maintenance are ideal for playing. The season typically starts in spring and continues through summer and fall, but the exact timing depends on the climate and location.

And as diverse as the landscapes across the United States, so are the golf seasons. The variance in seasons is mainly due to climatic and regional differences.

Eighteen states, including Florida, California, and Arizona, offer year-round golfing due to their warmer climates. But not all states are as fortunate. The length of the golf season in the United States varies significantly across states, with the colder months often limiting play.

In Minnesota, the shift from summer to fall is a big deal. The changing weather and leaves and everything else make the change extremely noticeable. You can’t miss it when the temp drops 20 degrees and every chimney in the town starts emitting woodsmoke. 

Which brings us to where we are right now.

We are currently in Branson, Missouri. With all its fall glory – fall colors, low tourist lines at the various shows and attractions – and the cooler temperatures!!

Yep, we are in the “final season” of golfing here in the “Show Me” state.

As the weather changes, I’m feeling a twinge of disappointment. I love summer, and I’m sad to see it end. I love the bright sunshine, and not having to wear a jacket. I love playing golf in the summer mornings while listening to the birds singing in the early morning on the course.

But the end of summer means the beginning of fall….and I love fall too.

I love the dramatic and vivid changing colors, the intermittent crisp temperatures, and the smoky smell of fall.

I guess it’s easy to understand why musicians (and poets, artists, and philosophers) are so entranced and inspired by the change of seasons. Every season is a multi-sensory experience – with its own unique sounds, smells, sensations, and emotional connotations. The changing of seasons marks the passage of time, causing me to reflect back, and look ahead.

The more I ponder this, the more I recognize that life is made up of many different seasons. And not just seasons like winter, spring, summer, and fall.

When I am going through difficult times, I remember that it’s just a season. God has a purpose and a time frame for my trial. Likewise, if things are great, I can’t take it for granted. I have to make hay while the sun is shining. Everything comes in seasons. I don’t give up when it’s tough or get overconfident when it’s not.

I am learning to trust the process.

Growing up in the late 60’s, early 70’s, I remember the song by the Byrds, “Turn! Turn! Turn!”. Often, when I am experiencing a particular season under Heaven, I find myself humming this song to myself, allowing the hope-filled words to permeate my situation and fill me with hope.  

“To everything – turn, turn, turn….

There is a season – turn, turn, turn….

And a time to every purpose under heaven“

By keeping that thought in mind, it reminds me that one year consists of four seasons – Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, and God has set an allotted time and purpose for each.

Life is like that.

My Reads from the Reds: There is a time for every season and everything is made beautiful in its time and it is GOOD!