Seasons Change

I've been learning a lot about seasons of life lately. Each season brings its beautiful moments, challenges, triumphs, questions, lessons to be learned, and at times they seem to move other people in and out of our lives. Someone once told me that people are in your life for a reason, season, or lesson. What an interesting thought. Sometimes certain seasons are brimming with activity, while others may teach us that we have to be still, at times we may be overwhelmed with blessing, and other times we may need to give more than we receive or love others more than we think they deserve. Some seasons bring abundance of companions and still others may require that we walk a path that is seemingly very quiet and secluded. While not all are comfortable, each season provides the promise of wisdom---if we are willing to assume the position of a student, seek out the lesson and learn.

Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 3 saying,
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end."

What I love about this passage is the thought that in time, everything---every season, every victory, every challenge or sorrow, every lesson is for a purpose. Everything becomes beautiful, valuable, intentional, and intricately woven into the fabric of time and history. I know that at times that it can be tempting to want to rush through a season, especially when things get uncomfortable or the promised future seems better than the present circumstance, but I have learned that it is far better to stay present and shift my focus to the opportunity that is before me in the form of this season. When I have chosen to learn and grow, my capacity and abilities expand to greater depth, and I am strengthened or developed in a new way. Whatever season of life you may happen to find yourself in currently, I challenge you (and I) to acknowledge it, look for the lesson, and remind ourselves that in time each season brings purpose, perspective, and beauty. You see, seasons are funny in the sense that just when they begin to feel comfortable and routine, the winds of change stir up once again. Don't rush ahead, wishing for the next thing; enjoy the moment and embrace the season.