Seasons Change

by Kristi Williams-Fontenot

Don’t you just love spring! The days are longer, the sun is brighter, and the smell of fresh cut grass is in the air! As the old saying goes, spring is in the air! There always seems to be a sense of anticipation and excitement with winter finally being behind, we look forward to spring ahead of us! New wild flowers in the ditches and new leaves on the trees! From baby birds learning to fly, to pastures filled with baby calves running behind their mommas! There is a newness around every corner! It’s the beautiful way nature reminds us that with every new season comes new changes and new life.

Just like the seasons change, so do the seasons we walk through in our personal lives. We leave one season behind us as we make our way into a new season of life. One thing life has taught me is that no matter what season I may be walking through, it will not last forever! We all walk through both good and bad seasons throughout life. When you are walking through a good season, it is hard to imagine life getting any better than this! Life seems to just fall into place! But what about those seasons where life seems to be falling out of place so quickly you feel like it is going to swallow you whole. I know I have had seasons where I feel helpless and hopeless at the same time. Where nothing I do ever feels like it is enough, and my life seems to be crashing down around me. It can truly feel as if I am walking a tightrope while trying to juggle the balls of life at the same time. Let me tell you… I am not athletic in the least bit! I promise you I have fallen off that tightrope and dropped those balls more times than I can even count! To tell you the truth, some seasons are just flat out HARD! Pain is hard. Sorrow is hard. Struggle is hard. You may feel as if this season is never going to end! I can assure you this: IT WILL!! Just like winter turns into spring, so will one season of life turn into another. I think God allows us these seasons of pain to grow us and make us stronger in Him. He wants us to turn to Him and trust Him through these difficult times. He will always make something beautiful and new out of our pain. It may be something as simple as finding joy in your children’s laughter after they have fought off an illness, or getting the opportunity to talk with an old friend who is there for you as you grieve the loss of a loved one. No matter what you are walking through, know that it is but a season and that something beautiful will come from it. Just like the newness of spring, God will lead you out of the wilderness and into something new!

If the season you are in is one of pain, sorrow or struggle, rest assured that a new season is ahead! As Winnie the Pooh once said, “I always get to where I’m going by walking away from where I’ve been.” Don’t spend time focusing on the past! God has equipped you to do great things! Let this season be the beginning of doing just that!

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 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 43:18-19