I’m on my way to Pittsburgh as I write this month’s entry. Don’t worry! I’m not driving! This time I get to just be the passenger and have someone else do the work. This affords me the chance to just take in the scenery and be lost in my thoughts.
As many of you are aware, spring has sprung and we all know officially what that means: warmer weather and summer is on its way! I don’t know about you, but that just makes me exude excitement! However, one thing is for sure: it’s not here yet! The trees are in a mixed place right now with some starting to bloom and others not quite awakened to the changes that will be coming. Plants are trying their best to push through the hard frozen ground while the snow still lingers in spots not yet touched by the warming sun. I would continue, but I won’t bore you with the poetic imagery that flutters through my mind.
I could go into several different directions with this entry and talk about the Kingdom of Heaven being here, but not quite yet in it’s entirety. I can talk to you about being planted and trying to push through the hard times. However, today I want to take the time to just talk about the changing of seasons.
It’s inevitable. One of the only things that you can guarantee in this lifetime is that change will occur. You can try to resist it and deny it’s coming, but you certainly can’t stop it from happening. The only thing you can control is your response to the change.
With that being said, here at GCS, we are constantly changing seasons whether it be moving from one semester to the second, one sports season to the other, or one school year to the next. Our basketball season has ended and now our drama team is moving feverishly towards the BIG SHOW of Peter Pan at the Mishler Theatre on April 5th and 6th.
What a ride it has been to go through the seasons of change! Sometimes it seems like before the shifting of seasons, there’s barely enough time to get your head out of the water to breathe before plunging right back down in the deep end. I know I feel it, the teachers feel it, and certainly the students feel it too (especially those involved in everything!) As we’re nearing the end of the school year, things are moving at a blistering pace.
Though the seasons change, even when everything around you seems to be chaotic, when you feel like you’re on shifting sand (whether it’s relationships, finances, emotions, or something else), one thing always and will forever remain the same: Jesus.
You’ll go through seasons of abundance and drought. You have times of wilderness and times of overflow, but in all of it, you can rest in knowing that He is constant. God is the same today as He was yesterday and will be the same tomorrow and in the years to come.
Do you find yourself in an undesirable season? Has unexpected change occurred in your life and left you feeling like you’re shifting sand? Do you need to shake off the past season? The seasons may be changing, but God remains the same. The process of change may be long and arduous, and it may be hanging on like how winter tries to hang on during spring, but there is hope that change will eventually come.
Seasons of change, though they may hurt — as growth is usually birthed through pain — should be welcomed and not rejected or resisted. God uses you where He plants you; regardless of the season that you find yourself. God can turn the pain and discomfort into purpose. Instead of focusing on the pain or stay in a mindset of wondering “why,” ask God to reveal to you what you need to learn and how you can still glorify Him in it. But before you ask God to change your season, understand that while He can change your situation and move you out of a season of discomfort, He’ll most often change you before changing the situation.
Don’t get so caught up in wanting to move from season to season. Many of us wish life away — “I wish it were summer already.” “I wish I was ______ age.” “I wish my kids were out of this stage.” “I wish ___________ (you fill in the blank).” Don’t get so caught up in what God is GOING to do; see what He is doing RIGHT NOW. Catch a glimpse of God in the season of life in which you find yourself.
Learn to live with God in all the changing seasons that will come your way. Learn to live with God in the mountaintops and in the valley. Learn to live with God in the springtime and in the desert. You may not be able to perceive what He is doing, but you can trust that He is working on your behalf.
You may be saying, “Okay I get it. But what if I’m in the season of my life because of what other people did?” You my friend, are not alone. Even Jesus found Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane, not because He chose to be there, but because Judas made a choice that put Him there. And you know what? God was still present with Him the garden too! God is in the business of “working all things together for your good according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). He’ll take the season that you are in and He’ll work it to your benefit; if you allow Him.
So as the seasons change, always remember that God is constant. Exodus 3:12 reminds us that as He led the Israelites as a cloud by day and fire by night, He will be with us and leading us to - providing that we follow Him. He was with Jesus as Jesus was on the earth and He promises to be with as just the same. When Jesus departed this world, He promised the impartation of the Holy Spirit so that we may never walk the changing seasons alone.
It’s time to sow a seed in this season. It may be a seed of faith, a seed of trust, a seed of love, a seed of patience, a seed of forgiveness; regardless of the seed, work the ground during this season to prepare for a future harvest. Be excited that change is coming. Be filled with hope that the seasons don’t last forever, but just a passing through.
Your season may be of that of doubt and questions. He is faithful.
Your season may be of heartbreak. He is good.
Your season may be that of lacking. He is provision.
Your season may be one of abandonment. He is present.
Your season may be chaotic and constantly changing. He is unchanging.
Take a deep breath. Embrace it. Fix your focus on Jesus’ face and understand that it won’t last forever. Spring and better days are on the way!