There are many seasons according to the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible. He makes a long list: a time to be born and a time to die; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to love and a time to hate; a time to get and a time to lose--the list goes on. In fact, he says, there is a season for everything under heaven.

     Furthermore he says that God has made everything beautiful in his time. Sometimes Ecclesiastes or, "the preacher" as he is called, is accused of some serious cynicism. I confess that I don't get it when he suggests that war, hatred, and killing are beautiful in any time. And as an avid sports fan, while I know there are times for losing, I am not able to be as serene as Ecclesiastes about it when it is my team that is losing. But then the preacher says God has so fixed our hearts that we can't know what God is up to.

     I know that Ecclesiastes has lots of devout folk who agree with him in believing that nothing happens that isn't approved by God. They may be right but I still plan to engage them in a little debate when we all get to heaven. There is, after all, the matter of the free will that God has granted humans. That's what leads to most of the negative items on the list.

     However, I do love most of the seasons. This is the season for changing colors, cooling temperatures, preparations for winter and preparations for springtime. I'm planting bulbs

which, if they survive the foraging of hungry squirrels, will bring beauty in due time. Also, I have just overseeded and fertilized my yard and already have lush new grass that is growing so fast you can watch it happen.

     This is also the season when, in most churches, we encourage members to make commitments to support the financial needs of the church during the coming year. A sign in front of a church in Gastonia recently proclaimed: "Give to God what's right, not what's left." A friend who teaches Driver's Education in high school said that sign especially caught his eye. There is, of course, a theological principle that God always has the right-of-way.

     One could have some fun in an election season with a slogan like that as well. Conservatives could be challenged by liberals to give God what's right. Of course, conservatives would want to argue that what's left could never be right. This is beginning to give me a headache.

     Out-of-season stuff always intrigues me too. Our yard is filled with lots of large, mature azaleas. They are a deep, rose, coral color with very large blossoms. In springtime they are ablaze with spectacular color. Suddenly, this week one stem among thousands on these bushes has erupted in brilliant bloom. I wonder, is the bush erupting in colorful defiance of one of God's seasons? Or might God be teasing us with a new message by setting another bush on fire. He has done it before, you know.

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