“The nobility of England, my Lord, would have snored through the Sermon on the Mount, but you’ll labor like scholars over a bulldog’s pedigree.”
–Sir Thomas More (A Man for All Seasons)

Maybe you’ve experienced the recent unseasonably cool weather we’ve enjoyed in the greater Charlotte area. It got me thinking about the upcoming fall season. But I get it. I’ve been in Charlotte for forty-six years, and I know for a fact we’ve got a lot more summer to endure. Still, college football’s on the horizon!

Aren’t seasons great? We look forward to a new season–even winter, probably because of the holidays in November and December. Then, when we’re deep into a season, we often tire of it and wish it away, hoping for the next one. Seasons afford us a change, a new start–much like when January 1 rolls around: do-overs, resolutions, changes, plans.

Isn’t that a bit like life itself? There are seasons in our lives. Our years of education, ending with high school or college/post-graduate study, when we’re ready to move on and enter the work force; our years of work, and after so many years or decades, we anticipate the joys and freedom of retirement; then, upon reaching retirement, sadly, some folks look back and long for those days at work, when what we did helped to define who we were.

Although it’s healthier to be at peace with where we are, sometimes we never seem content with our current station in life. Or, as Sir Thomas More implied when he responded to The Duke of Norfolk, we worry about the inconsequential and ignore the important.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 states, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven… (NIV).” I believe the author–perhaps the wise King Solomon–was telling us there is a time, place, and season for every situation in which we find ourselves.

Our job is to find contentment in our current season, rather than wish away where we are now so we can move on to the next, “sure-to-be-better” thing. Don’t we have to be careful not to wish our lives away?

So, how do we find contentment? Maybe through the satisfaction of doing an honest day’s work; or by the knowledge that a small, random act of kindness made a difference in someone’s life; or in the company of our close friends and family, and the pleasure such company confers on us.

A familiar phrase in the Old Testament is, “Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10 NIV).” Can we quiet ourselves in the chaos of this world, reflect on the knowledge that we are in God’s hands, and understand his plans are vast and unknown to us? There’s an old saying: “We make plans and God laughs.”

Just as I wrote two weeks ago about pro golfer Scottie Scheffler’s perspective on life–on what’s truly important versus short-lived and materialistic–we must find that proper perspective on our lives. It’s far better to be content in our current station of life when we cherish the moment and make the most of it. As the saying goes, “The past is history, the future is unknown, but today is a gift–that’s why it’s called the present.”

If we can achieve that mindset, then we’ll find contentment no matter the season . . . and, like Sir Thomas More, we’ll be women and men for all seasons.