Each morning, I have a routine. Upon rising, I pass through our kitchen walking towards our living room. As I walk, I pray in the Spirit until I get to a window that is positioned above my writing chair. I place my hands on both sides of the window frame and look up into the night sky. I thank the Lord for the new day. I pray for my family and friends.

All through the summer, as I stand at the window, I watch a single star migrate from a northern position in the sky toward the east. I have watched this star’s migration each summer. It takes a few months for the star to make its journey across my field of vision. Now, I have to crane my neck to see the star. It will disappear in another day or two. I call it my Summer Star because from my position at the window it is only visible to me during the summer months.

For those who intentionally place themselves before the Lord, they will see a change of spiritual seasons taking place. Like natural seasons, seasons in the spiritual realm come and go. We cannot hold on to them. Trying to hold onto a season that is passing can become like an unhealthy sentimentality that anchors us in the past at the expense of moving forward into the future.

My Summer Star has affirmed for me that we have no control over the changes that take place in the transition process between the natural seasons of life. We also have no control over the seasonal changes that take place in the realm of the Spirit. What we can control is the condition of our heart and our response to change. In any process of transition, we can let the regret of what did not happen in a passing season muddle our ability to see the good things that are approaching with a new season. We can also place too much emphasis on the unresolved issues in our lives that traveled with us from one season to the next. These issues become like extra unwanted baggage.  Some baggage can only be unpacked in a new season of life where the lessons we learned in a former season set the stage for God to perform an act of intervention and redemption.

For the next few days, I will continue to crane my neck to see the last images of my Summer Star as it finally passes from view announcing the arrival of the fall season. The fall sky will provide a new array of stars that will be equally beautiful. Only looking Heavenward are we able to see such things.