WOW… Summer has already come and gone. Labor Day, marking the last weekend in summer, has passed. How did summertime slip by so quickly? Kids are now back to school and daylight will begin to get shorter and shorter. Depending upon location, beaches will be closing, and homeowners will be winterizing their backyard pools. While still others will be relieved to see their neighborhood streets void of tourist traffic.
Embracing the changing seasons is part of life. Most people have their ‘favorite’ season, my happens to be summer, yet we all accept the fact, nature will submit to its innate force, changing and evolving in alignment with its design. Every town, city, or village, with no exception, will experience transition as the seasons change. Some will experience greater variances of weather, hence the intensity of the adjustments will be more severe, nonetheless, change will occur.
To embrace the changing seasons seems, well…natural. Yet many struggle with adapting to change when it occurs in their daily lives. Some would say, they have no control over the weather, therefore, they take each day as it comes. To that response, I ask: “ how much control do you actually have over the circumstances of your life”?
The reality is, no one can say with certainty what tomorrow will bring. (James 4:14) (Psalms 27:1).
There is much which is out of our control yet directly impacts our lives. Everyday brings new experiences to which we must adhere. Sometimes the changing seasons of life can feel like the warm breeze of summer, the fresh air of fall, the chill of winter, or the newness of Springtime. The only thing for certain, is that change will happen.
Just as Nature, by its very design, submits to the changing seasons, you and I were also created to adapt to our ever changing circumstances. “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19).
How well are you settling into the current season of your life? Are you embracing it or fighting against it? Are you trying to force things into this season that belonged in the last season? The colorful leaves of Fall would not survive in the harshness of winter. What is it that you need to let go of, so you can embrace today?
Learning when to hold on and when to let go is important to finding peace in the present season.
Though you may not determine what will come your way tomorrow, you can control how you respond. Do you slip into denial and pretend change in not happening? Do you toil until you are exhausted and unable to be fully present in the present day? Are you one who senses change in the air, yet chooses not to altar your routine to accommodate for the waves of the specific change?
There are seasons in life that are inevitable and there are seasons that are unexpected. Finding the tools to successfully transition from season to season will determine the amount of peace and joy you experience.
Unpredictable circumstances of life can hit and feel as though you have just been struck by lightning, shaking you to your very core. Situations such as, death, divorce, illness, or a national disaster. Situations like these, can cause uncertainty. It can feel as though winter is erupting on the inside of you with its relentless fury. Knowing how to navigate change will help you transition.
It is in these moments of transition, when you must turn your heart towards God. Seek His wisdom, and choose to be still enough to hear His quiet, but oh… so loving voice.
I have found in the changing of the seasons in my life, God had much He wanted to teach me. Each lesson was preparing me for where He was bringing me next. Much like the caterpillar becoming a butterfly. It is necessary for the caterpillar to ‘be still ‘so he can ‘become’!
God desires to mold us all into His image! Often times this molding process takes place in seasons of change.
“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10). Trust God’s timing. Be patient. No one has your mandate to fulfill. It’s all yours, it awaits you! Embrace the moments of uncertainty, for they surely will lead you to seasons of stability. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Take on the seasons of change with excitement and anticipation of what God is doing in you… so He can accomplish His will through you.
-Lucy Ann
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