"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." Ecc. 3:1
During my morning run, I tried to understand the changing of events that occurred in my life in the last year. A friend’s move during a struggling marriage, family sicknesses, my husband more than 400 miles away, and amongst it all, I try to hold it all together and pray for a sense of normalcy for my children and I.
As I ran down the road, I noticed the colors of autumn that surrounded me. The sound of leaves rustled beneath my feet and the trees disappeared into the hue of pumpkin and wheat. The sounds of this season are so different and solemn than the other seasons that, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as the autumn air. The vanilla skies reach out like wings of a dove and small pieces of nature cover the ground. The wind blew hundreds of leaves off the trees and I was suddenly reminded of how families, like mine, too, endure seasons through the course of time.
I believe God created seasons to show us how He is performing His work in our lives. Just as in nature, we experience winter, spring, summer, and fall in virtually every element of our lives including marriage, personal and spiritual growth, business, finance, relationships, and more. Marriage, falling in love, and the birth of a child are times of renewal like the spring. Families who are blessed to have long, pleasant periods of calmness are similar to the feeling of an endless summer. When we, and our children, grow older, our leaves start to change and we start to experience autumn. The times of crises and hardship are times for the family to stay close together, help each other out and endure what are sometimes the frigid winds of change known as winter.
Unlike nature, it appears our seasons seem to have a schedule of their own. We tend to experience highs and lows in all of our life situations. Sometimes we have a sense of excitement, and feel the need to reach out to someone; and other times we wonder we feel so withdrawn, out of place, or have feelings of doubt. We long for support, understanding, and love.
Jesus tells us “Abide in me and you will bear much fruit.” Yet, we often forget that fruit needs different seasons in order to grow. Sometimes it's hard to see that God is working in our lives. Sometimes we stay busy, sometimes we are still, and sometimes we are pushing with all we've got, and most of the time, we wait.
The tough seasons expose what we are really made of … what makes us strong and what makes us weak. When we go through a season of difficulty and look at it from a perspective of growing deeper by working things out and changing in the ways God wants us to change…we can always find beauty and love in the season we are in. It's important to remember that we need not sink under any trial, for there is one who can strengthen us..."I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," Philippians 4:13.
I pray that God meets you in whatever season you are in, and prepares you for whatever seasons await. Mostly, I pray that you find Christ wherever you are and that you realize that wherever you, He has found you.
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