Spring is a memory, Summer is middle-aged, and Autumn is trying to stick its foot in the door. Changing seasons offer promise and blessing, gain and loss, and remind us that flexibility isn’t just for kids. Perseverance, humor, and grit are required to manage changing life seasons.
I’ve grown to appreciate flip-flops and slip-ons, but still have more pairs of boots than anything else. Memories attach to places, people, sights, sounds, smells — and boots. My history is pressed into the pores of my leather boots; horses, places, lessons, failures, and blessings.
God Provides for Seasonal Change
God, in His wisdom, designed memory to be portable and easy to carry. The older I get, the more I appreciate how He thought of everything and planned for every event. Including transitions from one life season to another.
“She enjoys rain for its wetness, winter for its cold, summer for its heat. She loves rainbows as much for fading as for their brilliance. It is easy for her, she opens her heart and accepts everything.”
Morgan Llywelyn
The Brevity of Peak Season
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Genesis 8:22
Days in peak season are few. Life is more about beginnings and endings than it is experiencing particular destinations or circumstances. Change is the norm, not the exception.
Seasons will begin and end as long as the earth endures. Not only in the meteorological sense, but in our lives. Foaling season in Texas is past and folks are gearing up for Fall futurities. We pray for our loved ones preparing to welcome a new soul into the world and for the precious ones who will soon move on to the next.
My husband and I realize we are in a time of change, moving from stewarding land and livestock to something less demanding physically. We’re still invested and capable, but God is faithful to begin seasonal changes in the heart. Being in peak season means standing on the top of the hill, looking back at the path you walked up and down at the way ahead.
I’ll never start another horse under saddle. Soon I’ll own more slip-ons than boots. And that’s okay.
Hearts Change Along with Seasons
What you yearned for in the past isn’t what your heart recognizes today as the perfect fit. That’s the challenge of changing seasons — there is no perfect fit! Some things are too small and some too large. Some are threadbare and familiar, while others feel stiff and unnatural, like a new pair of cheap boots.
And some seasonal changes aren’t our own, but in the lives of those we love. Whether health-related, financial, retirement (never underestimate the effect of retirement on a family) or new giftings, momentous life events around us can be challenging.
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1
5 Tips for Successful Seasonal Change
1. Awareness
Past seasons have value as do the present and future, but they aren’t the whole ballgame. No one would ride if every horse remained a perpetual yearling. Focus on what is and what’s yet to be, not what isn’t any longer. Forward is your only option and you’re wise to embrace it.
You’re not here by accident, but “for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14)
2. Acceptance
The moral of the movie Groundhog Day is redemption through acceptance, concern, and love for others. Every day was the same as every other- an unchangeable nightmare. Caring for others is the foundation of becoming Christ-like. If you can’t change something, accept it. Anything else is tilting at windmills. Grace seldom proceeds acceptance, but is the sure reward.
3. Flexibility
God established the laws of physics. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. As seasons change, so must you. God wastes nothing. His change is purposeful and your bit is to follow His guidance. Blessings are greatest when you’re in God’s will.
4. Expectation
Expect God to act. Look for His hand in the changing seasons of life. Embrace what’s ahead because it’s His plan. Rejoice in what’s behind, whether it was a delightful blessing or because God mercifully put it in your rearview mirror and it’s over.
5. Humor
You will develop wrinkles, regardless of whether they’re frown furrows or laugh lines. The funniest jokes are those based on human foibles and mundane mishaps. Change is easier with faith, friends, and laughter.
What are you most excited about in the coming season? I’m thrilled to experience something totally new — leisure. No, I don’t have any extra time, but the pace and melody of life somehow feel slower and sweeter.
Chocolate
“As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, E, or U is the proper time for chocolate.”
Sandra Boynton
There’s always a reason to toss in something about chocolate. 🙂
The Best Offense is Preparation
Seasons change. When winter comes there’s no way to turn back the calendar to summer. Preparation is the stuff of everyday because peak season times are brief.
There are exceptions to every rule, but the best offense as life events happen is preparation. Direct how you move forward and consider it advancement, not loss or retrenchment. Joy is the journey itself, not some landmark or curiosity along the way.
Stay Connected
Stay connected to others. Community is powerful, supportive, and lessens the impact of waves and gales. Indulge in togetherness. Gray hair and wrinkles are cause for celebration!
We’re preparing for what comes next. Which means evaluating what we have today that won’t make the trip. Because we don’t know the parameters of our next season, it’s an adventure.
God wastes nothing, has a sense of humor, and we’re excited.
Related post: The Poison of Comparing Yourself
Another related post: Craving Obedience and Chocolate
This post was originally published as the July LynnBaber.com Newsletter.
One Response
Thank you, for your kind note and for your ministry and the care you give to your flock. Lynn
Comments are closed.