A Season in My Life

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

¹ There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

I think that the greatest part of living in the beautiful state of Ohio is being able to experience the changing of the seasons. I know many would disagree with me on this point. I know a lot of people who would be more than happy to have it be summer all year round! Don't get me wrong, I love summer too, but by the time September rolls around I am always looking forward to pullin' out the jeans and the sweatshirts. Fall is one of those seasons that just invites all the senses to celebrate in its beauty. When I walked down to get the mail yesterday, the sun was shining just right on the trees in my front yard, and they almost shimmered with all their glorious colors. The breeze was still warm but had just a hint of coolness, and it carried the sweet smell of moist earth and decomposing leaves. Every step crinkled and crunched as I walked under the canopy of branches that cover my driveway. I couldn't help but just stop for a moment and take it all in. It is in moments like those that I am overwhelmed by the majesty of our Creator. I understand what the Bible means in Luke when it says even "if we keep quiet, the rocks will cry out". The earth shouts of God's goodness and His glory!
When I take the time to stop and reflect on the seasons, I can't help but think about how it is a perfect analogy for the seasons in my life. I know this is a topic that has been thoroughly exhausted by writers who are much more talented than I am, but I am just fascinated by how many comparisons there are in nature to our spiritual lives, and it is such a good reminder to me of God's faithfulness, even in my times of doubt or struggle.
I think the thing about the seasons that makes me enjoy them the most is that you can only truly appreciate one because you have already experienced the others. Just as you can't fully know joy until you have had heartache, and you can't fully know peace unless you have had struggles.
I feel that I have had a lot of struggles lately, more than I have probably have ever had in my life. Now, struggling is completely relative to what that one person's experiences and weaknesses are. For me, my struggles even to my own ears, sound so minuscule compared to the struggles and heartaches of much of the world, but it is all relative to what I have experienced in the past. I have had a pretty easy life. God hasn't allowed me too much heartache or suffering. Actually, my life has been quite the contrary. I have always had everything I have needed and most of everything I've wanted. Things have always come pretty easy to me. I am grateful for that. It just makes it kinda tough for me now when I face new challenges, because I now have to learn how to navigate through them, how to really trust God, and how to maintain my testimony through it all.
I feel like we (me and my family) are in a season of waiting right now. I feel like much of our life is being uprooted and we are having to start all over again. The house did sell. We have to be out by the middle of November. We are not in a position to buy right now, but we did find a couple of other places that we were interested in renting. We are still waiting to hear back from both of them. We are also waiting to hear about Matt's job situation for the winter. The past two years he has been laid off from November to April. It is looking more promising this year that he will be able to keep his job, but we have no guarantees. Financially we are definitely going to have to start all over and rebuild from the bottom. All of these things combined just feels so stressful, and to be honest just downright depressing at times. Matt and I were talking about all of this, and he hit the nail right on the head. It's not that things are all that bad for us right now. We WILL have somewhere to go, we have vehicles that run and money (though not much) in the bank. We have food on the table every night, and we have families that love and support us in any way they can. We have each other, and we have an awesome Savior who has already provided us with EVERYTHING we need. It's not that we are really suffering, it's just that things are not going according to our plan. We had this grand plan of how we wanted our life to turn out and where we would be right now, and that plan didn't include being broke, moving out of the house we thought we were gonna buy, and having to put everything on hold until we know whether or not Matt will have a job. God has a different plan for our life. The thing about it is that I am so foolish for one, thinking that everything would go perfectly my way, and two, assuming that my plan would be better than God's and just trying to follow it instead of seeking His will. Oh sure, I've seeked and obeyed Him in some areas, but if I was truly desiring to follow His plan, I wouldn't be so thrown off when things don't go as I thought they would.
The other day I was feeding Lexi lunch, and I have been working on patience with her, because she has NO idea what the word "wait" means. I guess I wasn't getting her food quickly enough because she was SCREAMING. Well, I had her food ready after just a minute, but I was waiting to give it to her until she settled down. She needs to learn that she won't get her way just because she throws a fit. She needs to trust me. I am her Mom and I have her best in mind, and I will make sure that all her needs are met, she just may have to wait a minute. As I was sitting there feeling frustrated with her, it dawned on me that I was exactly the same way. The Holy Spirit convicted me that I am no different than my 15 month old daughter. Why am I not trusting God? Don't I know by now, after years of being His child that He has my best in mind? And He may very well be waiting to give it to me until I have learned how to stop throwing a fit when I don't get my way and to just trust Him. I know that He desires to meet all my needs, and He promised me He would, but it will be in His timing, not mine. That was such a powerful lesson for me, and one that I am going to have to continue to learn, as I have not mastered it yet!
In the past weeks I have heard a few sermons and received encouragement from a few people that really reminded me that instead of always asking God to remove me from the season of life that I am in, I need to ask Him how He would have me to walk through it? How can my testimony shine even brighter in my times of struggle? What is it that He wants me to learn from this season of my life? I am going to have to walk through it reguardless of what my attitudeis or how much I resent it, so why not make the best of it, and trust that God has a purpose and that His blessing is waiting right around the corner.
Ya know, it always drives me crazy when people complain about the weather. It seems that some people just can't be pleased. If it's winter, they hate the cold, if its spring they hate the rain, if its summer, its too hot, and if its fall, winter is right around the corner. Sure, there are not so pleasant things about all of the seasons, but in focusing on that, we miss the beauty that God has given us to enjoy in each one. There is little that is more beautiful than watching snow fall from the warmth of a house full of people you love, and I love the smell of rain in the spring as the flowers are starting to poke through the dirt and the trees get a green haze, and the feeling of walking out into the sunshine in the summer and letting it soak into your skin, and then seeing all the radiance of God's creation in the fall.
So I have to ask myself this question. Am I missing the beauty of the season of life that I am in because all I can focus on is the parts of it I don't like? This is definitely something I am going to be pondering in the coming weeks, and I am going to do my best to focus on all the blessings that God is showering on me through this time. I am going to enjoy the beauty that is right in front of me and know that when the rain falls, its only because God is getting ready to make the flowers bloom in my life.
God Bless! I would love to hear about the seasons of life that God has you in right now and how He is blessing you through it! It would be such an encouragement to me! Please share!
Thanks so much for reading!