Summer comes and we can't wait to get outside in the sun to have some fun! Swimming, BBQ's, family vacations, no school. Life just slows down and we enjoy it just a little bit more. Day after day, we play and indulge. Day after day, we are gluttons for the sun and fun. One afternoon we slow down because a storm has moved in. But we don't complain because it has been months since it has rained and it will be so refreshing. Even if it has some hail and wind and lightening, we don't mind because our land is so dry.
The rain brings with it cooler temperatures. Just what we needed! We've been so hot all summer and going out into that sun has lost its appeal. Fall has arrived and we can't wait for football and milder temps. Our meals get a little heavier and so do our fannies but that's ok because swim suit season is over! Can I get an Amen?!? Thank you Sweet Baby Jesus that we don't have THAT pressure hanging over us anymore! Could life get any better?
We wake up one morning and a cold front has moved in. Thank goodness. Nobody wants to wear shorts on Christmas morning...a very real thing in Texas! We want to see some snow on the ground, make snowmen and snow ice cream if we're lucky, sing Christmas songs and do some baking! Our trees go up and it feels like a party every day. We watch parades on television, exchange a mountain of gifts and bring out our ugly sweaters to hide all that baking we've been doing😳
One more day we are slugging through the mud and the ice and the muck to get to our cars to go to work and we see something bright green trying to peek through the crusty ground. Before we know it, tiny flowers are poking up all around us and our yards look like the grass fairy has made a sweep! It's so pretty and it smells so good! We look at ourselves in the mirror and wonder where the heck that 20 pounds came from. We decide it's time to do something about it! What better time than when everything is starting over? It's a new year and a new me! We work hard, drop a few pounds and start to feel really good. We look up and guess what? Sweet Summertime is here! And so the cycle continues.
Do you notice what just happened here? Seasons changed. We embraced each one of them with very little thought to the actual change. We just went with them. We accommodate and make the best of the current situation. We find the joy to be had in each one of them. We can't control the weather or the climate so we adapt.
But what happens when the seasons change in our personal lives? You know, the ones that we say God is in control of but only when we want Him to be?.........
All of our lives we dream of finding a soul mate, a spouse, a person that we can grow old with. That special person is perfect, until they are not. You wake up one morning and realize your special person has a drinking problem. You can't fix it, you can't control it. It wrecks your marriage and you wonder what you did wrong.
You carry your child for 9 months. You dream of heart shaped lips, 10 fingers and 10 toes and pretty pink skin. You can't wait to chase this little person around the house and hear their laugh. Your baby is placed in your arms and you immediately know something isn't right. Your baby is born with special needs and you wonder what you did wrong.
You thank God every day for that special friend that He put in your life. The one that you can tell all of your darkest secrets to, the one that will always make you smile and knows just what you need, day or night. The one that calls you and tells you that they were diagnosed with cancer.....and you wonder what you did wrong.
You spend every day talking to your parent. You think they will always be there for you, even when no one else is. You rely on them for everything. Until they are relying on you and they are in a nursing home and they can't remember who you are and you wonder what you did wrong.
The seasons in our lives change just like the weather. But we don't handle the transitions as well. The bible says:
3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
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 from embracing,
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.
God is going to allow the seasons in our lives to change. Every change will bring with it an opportunity to turn to Him, to rely on Him and to praise Him.
God, I know that change is inevitable. You allow the seasons to change outside and you've always prepared me for it. I know that the seasons in my heart are going to change too and I know that if I keep my focus on You, that You will prepare me for those changes as well. I can't promise that I won't stumble but I can promise that I will praise You in this storm.
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