There is an aspect to this East Coast living that I haven’t adjusted to yet- enduring the brown grass season. No one warned me about this. No one told me that I’d be looking at a sea of ugly beige as the grass lies dormant for roughly five months.

Moving to South Carolina from Southern California almost four years ago has been mostly a positive transition. I love experiencing the changing seasons, seeing the green buds appear on the bare trees as spring arrives, and the glorious amber and red hues in the fall.

I also love a yard with green, beautiful grass and no weeds, preferably year-round. Don’t we all? But that only happens in areas without changing seasons. To get the glorious transformation of spring, summer, winter, and fall, you have to endure some brown grass.

“It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.” Psalm 74: 17.

Our grassy areas tend to simulate our lives. Sometimes our season looks vibrant and lush. We are thriving in life, with family, finances, and friends. But then the weeds start to pop up, and we must rush to deal with pesky invaders that may threaten our marriage, health, or relationships.

We may think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, as we look at other people’s lives and think… they have it so good. But we don’t know all that is going on with them.

If we were given their brown grass season, would we be able to handle it?

Our neighbor Jim is a retired landscaper, and I often look at his yard and think, “If only our grass were as green and healthy as his.”

I find myself coveting his lawn.

But he still has weeds. I see him over there putting the poison on them that ends their day in the sun.

And so it is with all of us. We have our moments of laughter and joy mingled with sorrow and heartbreak. Brown grass gradually gives way to a more robust period of verdant blooming.

The apostle Paul knew this and shared that he was sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing and yet possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:10).

Our times of hardships and trials are allowed by God to draw us closer to him and to experience the richness of his grace. Our grief is often simultaneously mixed with gladness and eventually leads to a more lighthearted season.

And in that process we’ve been transformed.

When I look back at my years in California, I never realized that green grass year-round wasn’t normal. It was something I took for granted.

But I also didn’t get to experience the glory of changing seasons, endure the brown grass, and wait with heightened anticipation for it to return to its emerald splendor.