Seasons

Everywhere you look in life, there are seasons. I guess this is all on my mind right now because we are starting the season, that to me, seems to be the beginning. Spring time is so full of new life. It feels so fresh, clean, new, and exciting. Things are being born, and everywhere you look you seem to find a renewed appreciation for things that shriveled up, lost their beauty, and lay dormant over winter. The seasons are represented in our weather and surroundings, and in our physical lives as we grow and age. But more importantly, the seasons are evident in our spiritual lives.

As we grow and mature as Christians, we experience a wide array of circumstances and emotions. We accept Christ into our lives and begin this journey of growth and development. Joy motivates us, encourages us, and flows out of us. Life is good! But just as the seasons change, we must also enter into a time of trial, testing, and the word I like is "refining." This is where so many people fall off the boat and get lost. No perseverance. Those once beautiful flowers that bloomed in Spring, lacked deep roots as Autumn and Winter approached.

No one escapes harsh Winters, no matter how good or bad you are. It's all about perspective. Stuff happens, period. How will you deal with it? Will you shrivel up, will you blow away?

I have recently began a new season in my life. Spring has sprung! My Fall and Winter has gone on for about the last four years. It was a time where God was CONSTANTLY saying, "Do you trust me? Do you trust me with your fears, with your marriage, with your job, with your friends, with your family, with your finances, with your faith, with your children?" Trial after trial, disappointment after disappointment, each time I had a decision. I chose, piece by piece, tear by tear, to be refined and molded a little more into His image.

You begin to see the beauty in Winter when you want to, when you can accept and be thankful for it while it is there. Seasons don't stop. It won't always stay Summer, Spring, Winter, or Fall. They all come, and they all go. If these seasons didn't change, we would never grow. Another beautiful thing about our "Winters" is that in time, we can look back and use them to bring others closer to their "Springs!"

I guess I've said all of this to encourage. If your stuck in the cold, hard, times and long for hope and sunshine, hang in there. Don't focus on the circumstances you see on the surface, focus on the growth that can take place spiritually. If you are flying high in the warm sunshine, hear the birds chirping and smell the pretty flowers, enjoy! Thank God for every second and constantly look for ways to bless others. Good or Bad, this too shall pass. The ONLY thing that stays the same, no matter where we are, is God and the unconditional love He has for us.