AN ADAGE A DAY- ENCOURAGEMENT
Bye Bye, Summer
By Carole Gilbert
All good things must come to an end. I’ve heard this said throughout my life, but is it true? And talking about good things, how many of us are thinking about the summer we just had? I bet one or two of us are somewhere. I loved our summer. We went to the beach, had a Fourth of July party for our church high school kids, and enjoyed playing outside with the grands. And I am not a cold weather girl, but I will admit, as fun as it was, it was a hot summer.
I grew up on the coast of Texas below Houston. I only saw it cold enough to have snowflakes once. I never even owned a coat, just a couple of sweaters. So, when I moved to North Texas during high school, I quickly learned how the good thing of even temperate weather had come to an end. I quickly learned the purpose of gloves and scarves and became very fond of pockets for those times I forgot my gloves. And I bought my first ever coat! I saw snow that remained on the ground for a week, and this happened every winter.
This proverb “All good things must come to an end,” originated in 1374 by Geoffrey Chaucer, an English poet best known for writing The Canterbury Tales, which is about thirty pilgrims traveling to and from a mutual destination all telling about their different journeys. One thing that makes Chaucer’s story so interesting is the quote he added in it
He wrote,
"Now I beg all those that listen to this little treatise, or read it, that if there be anything in it that pleases them, they thank our Lord Jesus Christ for it, from whom proceeds all understanding and goodness."
Chaucer first said the phrase, all good things must come to an end, as “everything comes to an end” or “everything has an end.” I think he really understood the meaning of being thankful for good things in his life, especially those things that come to pass. We all know the importance of being thankful and for realizing what we have. And we all know only God doesn’t end. Chaucer knew this too and he knew where goodness came from. But sometimes we wish something we’re enjoying could last forever.
To me, this is a melancholy phrase. And I’ve used it when I having a “woe is me” moment. But I always try to look ahead and see what might be coming. There’s always something positive and happy to come. We just have to look for it. I must remember that the hot weather, which I love, will come again. Summer will return. It’s only a matter of time and time does not stand still. And then I must remember what comes in the cold season, like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, which I also love.
Ecclesiastes 7:8 says,
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.