Seasons Come and Seasons Go
Hi friends -
Let me start by apologizing for not posting anything in the past month! Boy, life really took hold of me for awhile. I can honestly say that I have NEVER been this tired, physically or emotionally. I've been getting hit with a lot, mostly from work, and I am so sorry to say that I let this tiredness take over my life. However, I promise I am trying to fight back! In fact, I have been thinking over this post for a few weeks now; hopefully all my points come across as clear and concise as I intend them to be!
It's finally Fall, y'all! My most favorite season is upon us, although it seems to have taken quite awhile for the cooler weather to make an appearance. I can usually find at least two things that I love about each season; Fall, however, always fills me with delight, and a real sense of calm begins to pervade my spirit. Also, I could totally be biased; my birthday, after all, is next month! So, perhaps my love for this season is simply because I am a Fall baby, through and through.
Another aspect I love about this season is how everything changes. Within a matter of weeks, all the leaves change colors, and the trees begin to free themselves, which in turn makes the landscape more open and barren. Everything starts to slow down; chilly mornings and nights make people snuggle in at home, under blankets or in front of fires. Sweaters and boots are worn with increasing frequency, although there are always at least one or two people that continue to wear sandals; holding out hope, I suppose for a late Indian Summer! Underneath all of this, however, lies a sense of pure anticipation. Everyone's senses are filled with the changing of the seasons, and we tend to turn our thoughts to the upcoming holidays. We long for the time with our families at Thanksgiving and Christmas; we cannot wait for New Year's, so we can start our resolutions, and begin to change the things we do not like about ourselves.
Change. That is the key, and the real reason why I love Autumn so much. It is also, I truly believe, the reason why most people seem to gain more energy during the Fall. The old year is almost over, and soon they will be able to leave behind all the bad, and try again for a "good" year. I used to have a similar mentality, although there was always a sense of unease in the back of my brain; it was as if I was missing a key point of some kind, and just could not put my finger on what it was.
I have mentioned before that grief can tear you apart. It changes your heart, and it definitely changes your perspective on things. When I was walking through the beginning stages of grief two years ago, I barely even noticed anything that was happening around me. I remember Thanksgiving and Christmas from that year, but when I think back on it now, the details are super fuzzy and obscured. Even with my renewed sense of peace and perspective that my California trip brought me, I was still just going through the motions of life for months. It wasn't until my second trip to Cali the following summer (2016) that I really started to "wake up" again. First of all, I flew out there alone; so I was more aware of things in the airports, and paid more attention to my surroundings. As a result, I was much more aware of the scenery I was flying over, and spent much of my flights just staring out the windows. Also, being alone gave me plenty of time to mull over my life from the past year or so. Secondly, the first thing we (myself, my sister, and my brother-in-law) did was go straight to a beach from the airport. And as I stood thigh-deep in swirling seawater, under a pier, with the sun beating on my head and my sister standing next to me snapping pictures, I was completely overwhelmed with a sense of pure Thankfulness. On my first trip to California the previous year, the Lord renewed a sense of Peace in my heart, and I came home feeling overcome with grief, but filled with a "peace that surpasses all understanding." With this second trip, I had my first taste of what it is to be truly thankful. I was thankful for the beach, for my siblings, for the air I was breathing, and the sights I was seeing. More importantly, I was thankful for my very life. How wonderful it is to live joyful and free in the Lord! I am so thankful.
My various trips to California, and Georgia (to see my family) also helped me realize that the seasons of your life rarely match up to "the four seasons," as it were. I realized that I was constantly let down with my life the past few years, because I had convinced myself that the things I was disappointed with would change whenever the physical season changed. It had never occurred to me that they were differing seasons altogether. Looking back, it is hard for me to understand why I had failed to see that the two weren't connected. I am just thankful that the Lord used my time of grieving to reveal this to me, thus changing my perspective almost completely. Now mind you, this change did not come about immediately; it has taken a good bit of time for me to reach these conclusions. I have become almost hyper-aware of the current seasons I am walking through, as well as when they change and shift into others. I have become slightly "obsessed" with being truly Thankful; I make it a point to thank God every time I pray, and I try very hard to find at least one thing to be thankful for throughout each day. I have learned that, yes, seasons in life are not aligned with the physical seasons at all, but neither do they last forever. As with the physical seasons and the changing weather, so the seasons of life eventually change. I am so thankful for that fact.
The Bible says that "there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens."
God works everything that happens within our lives for good; every season has a purpose, friends! The change in perspective has done me a world of good. Forcing myself to find a sense of Thankfulness, no matter the situation, has helped me grow, both emotionally and spiritually. It has grown my faith in a way I honestly never expected. Take this past summer, for example. Because I started work in December instead of the previous August, my summer pay was much lower than it had been, and it also ran out at the end of July. AKA, I didn't get paid at all during the month of August. I had to exist on some money I made from house-sitting, as well as part of my savings. By the time I started getting paid again in September, my financial situation was pretty dire. Many people have told me they don't know how I managed to survive without getting paid. My answer is fairly simple and straightforward: my God always provides. My spirit was fully at peace, and continuously full of thankfulness, in spite of the supposed "dire straits" I found myself living within. I have learned how to leave every season of my life, no matter how bleak it may look, in the hands of the High King above all kings.
No season that you find yourself in lasts forever; good or bad, it will eventually shift and change into something else. Staying thankful to God for all He has done, and will always do, is key in keeping your spirit alive and hopeful, which in turn helps you find true Joy. Thank you, Jesus.
Stay thankful, friends; I know I definitely am!
Let me start by apologizing for not posting anything in the past month! Boy, life really took hold of me for awhile. I can honestly say that I have NEVER been this tired, physically or emotionally. I've been getting hit with a lot, mostly from work, and I am so sorry to say that I let this tiredness take over my life. However, I promise I am trying to fight back! In fact, I have been thinking over this post for a few weeks now; hopefully all my points come across as clear and concise as I intend them to be!
It's finally Fall, y'all! My most favorite season is upon us, although it seems to have taken quite awhile for the cooler weather to make an appearance. I can usually find at least two things that I love about each season; Fall, however, always fills me with delight, and a real sense of calm begins to pervade my spirit. Also, I could totally be biased; my birthday, after all, is next month! So, perhaps my love for this season is simply because I am a Fall baby, through and through.
Another aspect I love about this season is how everything changes. Within a matter of weeks, all the leaves change colors, and the trees begin to free themselves, which in turn makes the landscape more open and barren. Everything starts to slow down; chilly mornings and nights make people snuggle in at home, under blankets or in front of fires. Sweaters and boots are worn with increasing frequency, although there are always at least one or two people that continue to wear sandals; holding out hope, I suppose for a late Indian Summer! Underneath all of this, however, lies a sense of pure anticipation. Everyone's senses are filled with the changing of the seasons, and we tend to turn our thoughts to the upcoming holidays. We long for the time with our families at Thanksgiving and Christmas; we cannot wait for New Year's, so we can start our resolutions, and begin to change the things we do not like about ourselves.
Change. That is the key, and the real reason why I love Autumn so much. It is also, I truly believe, the reason why most people seem to gain more energy during the Fall. The old year is almost over, and soon they will be able to leave behind all the bad, and try again for a "good" year. I used to have a similar mentality, although there was always a sense of unease in the back of my brain; it was as if I was missing a key point of some kind, and just could not put my finger on what it was.
I have mentioned before that grief can tear you apart. It changes your heart, and it definitely changes your perspective on things. When I was walking through the beginning stages of grief two years ago, I barely even noticed anything that was happening around me. I remember Thanksgiving and Christmas from that year, but when I think back on it now, the details are super fuzzy and obscured. Even with my renewed sense of peace and perspective that my California trip brought me, I was still just going through the motions of life for months. It wasn't until my second trip to Cali the following summer (2016) that I really started to "wake up" again. First of all, I flew out there alone; so I was more aware of things in the airports, and paid more attention to my surroundings. As a result, I was much more aware of the scenery I was flying over, and spent much of my flights just staring out the windows. Also, being alone gave me plenty of time to mull over my life from the past year or so. Secondly, the first thing we (myself, my sister, and my brother-in-law) did was go straight to a beach from the airport. And as I stood thigh-deep in swirling seawater, under a pier, with the sun beating on my head and my sister standing next to me snapping pictures, I was completely overwhelmed with a sense of pure Thankfulness. On my first trip to California the previous year, the Lord renewed a sense of Peace in my heart, and I came home feeling overcome with grief, but filled with a "peace that surpasses all understanding." With this second trip, I had my first taste of what it is to be truly thankful. I was thankful for the beach, for my siblings, for the air I was breathing, and the sights I was seeing. More importantly, I was thankful for my very life. How wonderful it is to live joyful and free in the Lord! I am so thankful.
My various trips to California, and Georgia (to see my family) also helped me realize that the seasons of your life rarely match up to "the four seasons," as it were. I realized that I was constantly let down with my life the past few years, because I had convinced myself that the things I was disappointed with would change whenever the physical season changed. It had never occurred to me that they were differing seasons altogether. Looking back, it is hard for me to understand why I had failed to see that the two weren't connected. I am just thankful that the Lord used my time of grieving to reveal this to me, thus changing my perspective almost completely. Now mind you, this change did not come about immediately; it has taken a good bit of time for me to reach these conclusions. I have become almost hyper-aware of the current seasons I am walking through, as well as when they change and shift into others. I have become slightly "obsessed" with being truly Thankful; I make it a point to thank God every time I pray, and I try very hard to find at least one thing to be thankful for throughout each day. I have learned that, yes, seasons in life are not aligned with the physical seasons at all, but neither do they last forever. As with the physical seasons and the changing weather, so the seasons of life eventually change. I am so thankful for that fact.
The Bible says that "there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens."
God works everything that happens within our lives for good; every season has a purpose, friends! The change in perspective has done me a world of good. Forcing myself to find a sense of Thankfulness, no matter the situation, has helped me grow, both emotionally and spiritually. It has grown my faith in a way I honestly never expected. Take this past summer, for example. Because I started work in December instead of the previous August, my summer pay was much lower than it had been, and it also ran out at the end of July. AKA, I didn't get paid at all during the month of August. I had to exist on some money I made from house-sitting, as well as part of my savings. By the time I started getting paid again in September, my financial situation was pretty dire. Many people have told me they don't know how I managed to survive without getting paid. My answer is fairly simple and straightforward: my God always provides. My spirit was fully at peace, and continuously full of thankfulness, in spite of the supposed "dire straits" I found myself living within. I have learned how to leave every season of my life, no matter how bleak it may look, in the hands of the High King above all kings.
No season that you find yourself in lasts forever; good or bad, it will eventually shift and change into something else. Staying thankful to God for all He has done, and will always do, is key in keeping your spirit alive and hopeful, which in turn helps you find true Joy. Thank you, Jesus.
Stay thankful, friends; I know I definitely am!
"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."
-Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, NIV.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
-Philippians 4:6-7, NIV.
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