I’ve always loved seasons and I missed them in California. So far, I’ve experienced the two least pleasant ones North Carolina has to offer – summer and winter. But one day, they will pass and be replaced by the splendor of spring and later, the brilliance of autumn.

As this new year and new decade begin, I’m also struck by how changeable the seasons of life are. My friends whose 22-year-old son died last week in a car accident are entering a long season of mourning and weeping. Yesterday, hundreds of friends joined them to celebrate the extraordinary life of their son, said to be “passionate about everything, neutral about nothing.” When he fully surrendered his life to Christ, he got a huge tattoo on his chest of a heart being held by nail-pierced hands, to remind him of who was holding his heart. Now he no longer needs to be reminded. He can gaze directly into the face of the Lover of his soul.

My other friends’ two sons, victims of another car accident, are both out of their comas and on the long road to recovery. Their family is in a season of some serious rejoicing after seeing the fragility of life upclose. The same God who ushered the one boy home, healed the other two.

I have no answers for this. Only that God in His goodness holds our lives in His hands and He always has our best interests at heart. These life and death issues have steeled my resolve to live "my utmost for His highest" for whatever time I have left. As Oswald Chambers said, "I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone." As we said in Romania, sunt de acord. I agree.