Seasons and Sign On's

A while back, June to be specific, I went to the ART's conference at Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago. The conference was split into two parts: ACT I and ACT II. Because of my work schedule and that green stuff called money, I opted to only attend ACT II.

The first session that I attended was called "Seasons of the Soul" and it was led by Nancy Beach. The session sounded vaguely familiar, but I had decided to register for it anyway. The premise behind this breakout was the different seasons you go through in life. Winter being a season of sorrow or discontent. Perhaps a loss of a job or maybe the passing of someone dear to you occurs when you find yourself in winter. Spring depicts a season of new hope and new life. Things like starting a new job or something similar occurs when in this season. Summer, the season of fun and where life is good and you never want it to end. Life is just good. There is no dispair to be found. And lastly fall, a season of change in your life. A job relocation or moving on after a divorce are some of the things that may cause you to be in a fall season in your life.

I was logging on to my computer this morning and it occurred to me that my various passwords are reflective of the various seasons I was in when I created them. Its interesting that over the past few months I've never changed them.

Take for instance when I purchased this laptop. I had just been laid of from my job with an employer that I had been at for nearly 15 years. I was flooded with a myriad of emotions at that time. I was worried, angry, scared and somewhat depressed. I couldn't believe that I was that naive in thinking that I would never have this happen to me. When my laptop arrived of course I had to create a password for logging on. Today, ironically, it occurred to me that my password reflects that winter season of my life.

Interestingly enough, as I continued to navigate around my computer this morning I clicked on the favorite I have stored to take my to my work email. About 2 months after getting laid off I was re-hired by the parent company, or corporate office of the business I previously had been laid off from. One would have thought at the time of my re-hire I would have been in a spring season of my soul. But as I entered my logon and typed my password I realized that it too was reflective of the winter season I had been in. I wouldn't say that I'm still in that winter season now in my work but apparently getting the job wasn't enough to pull me out of it when I started.

I have an email account for personal emails as well and decided to hop on to that account as well and see if anyone had sent me anything fun there. My wife will often drop me a little email note during the weekend just for fun and I'm always delighted to get them. My personal email is where I get most of my emails from my family and friends as well. You never know what I might get and its always fun to check and see who might have emailed me and what changes they might bring.. Fittingly, my password here was reflective of spring.

Finally this morning I wanted to check the final email account that I have thats at my church. I don't get many emails here but I do get some. They usually pertain to things going on in the ARTS ministry where I serve. I love my church. I always feel at home there. It's where I want to be. The people I consider my closest friends are there. It's no big surprise that my password for my church email account is reflective of summer. It's there I have the times of my life that I never want to end.

It seems as thought I always have some type of change going on in my life but apparently one of those changes has not hit me when its been time to select a new password. Who'd thought as the seasons of my soul continue to ebb and flow that that something as simple and unconscious as setting a computer password would have been the result of that going on in my life.