A time for everything

Quality of the Light

Walking west yesterday afternoon, we were treated to a vibrant canopy of colour. Streaks of reds, pinks, purples, greys, and blues ribboned the sky as the sun set. Yes, it was only mid-afternoon – this time of year our days are remarkably short. The light is always dampened down, as if it were only the first click of a three-way light bulb. 

But do I always want the bulb on full-strength? Isn’t it sometimes quite atmospheric and mellow to have the lamp on at the first or second stage? 

I know that many people find the diminished hours of daylight and the weakened strength of the sun a physical problem which leads to seasonal mood-swings. There are lamps which mimic a strong sun and which can restore a correct level of serotonin into a brain thus affected by the lesser light strength. 

For me though, although I dearly love summer heat and never get enough of it here in Scotland, there is something right about having a rhythm to the seasons, a change to the length of days and the appearance of the landscape and even the sky. 

The challenge in life is to seek out the good in whatever situation one is in. One hears so many complaints, so many moans about everything – the weather of course here in Scotland, and the politics and the economy or taxes or whatever – and it is refreshing to make an effort to concentrate on the good rather than the bad. 

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. God has made everything beautiful in its time. 

He has also set eternity in the hearts of men.