Better Than an Aha Moment!

One season ends, another begins.  Last week (March 5) Christians began observing the season of Lent.  That was preceded in the Christian calendar by the season of Epiphany.  I like the season of Lent just fine, but I really like the season of Epiphany because in my simplistic way of thinking it officially sanctions epiphany as a season rather than just a moment.

We tend to think of an epiphany as a moment of awareness, an “aha moment”.  That’s what we say, an “aha moment.”  We don’t usually talk about an “aha season.”  I think that’s a shame, because if you’ve ever experienced a season of insights, growth, new understandings that seem to stretch on for a while it’s a wonderful thing to be appreciated and celebrated.

Even though we have now “officially” entered into the season of Lent, I’m still in a season of epiphany.  I’m in one of those “aha seasons” and I like it.  I feel like I’m gaining wisdom.  I feel like I’m in a spurt of character development.  I’m growing and as a result I feel good about myself and life in general, more than usual, because of this sense of increase that is my current reality.

I share this with you today so as to encourage you to be open to more than just “aha moments”.  There can be “aha seasons” and recognizing them as such will add to your appreciation of them when they come your way.  As for me, I hope this current season of epiphany lasts a while; perhaps throughout Lent and into the Easter season that follows.  I don’t expect it to last indefinitely, so I’ll enjoy it while it’s here and just see what comes next.

As I’ve thought about this matter and what is, and isn’t, in the Bible, I’ve thought about the passage in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 which talks about how there is a time, or season, for every purpose under heaven.  The list of cycling seasons found in that passage doesn’t include a time for epiphanies or “aha’s”, so I guess this does indeed qualify for inclusion in the category “it’s not in the Bible.”  But I think the Bible does shed light on what we can expect regarding such things as “aha seasons” in that, as with the other things described in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, this season will have its duration, and then something will change and a new season will begin.  Such is life.