Aspects of Seasons Bite; Wisdom Says....

....embrace them.

Within the first half hour of laying in the bed in this morning, musing before the Lord, I had this thought: "Now that Christmas has passed springtime is more than welcome to return."  I am confident He smiled, knowing the better.

Anybody relate?

I am not a cold weather person at all.  Don't get me wrong; I love the thought of snowflakes falling as I sip hot cocoa topped with marshmallows, but in the reality of it, I know my toes will be freezing no matter how many pairs of socks I put on! And that is not okay!

But I also know if the bitter cold does not come, springtime will be overrun with bugs that will make that season way less enjoyable. The cold MUST come.

Life is like that.  Each season has its positives and its negatives. Both are present and both are inseparable. Pointedly, without the negatives of one season, the next season will not be as it is meant to be.

On Christmas Eve, a family member passed away.  As we spent precious time with their spouse on Christmas, they said, "Once you see a loved one across, it changes you; it truly does."  But here's what stood out to me in their moment of precious realness: in that raw moment, I detected the change they spoke of. The coming days were going to be the richer...the more precious...the more endearing...because of their great loss this season.

Seasons do change regardless of want.

Wounds, loss, disappointments.... the negatives of whatever season you are in right now....bite.  No denying it. They just do.  But you are not alone. It is a fact. Each and every person going through their own season IS experiencing degrees of negatives.

I have been through a lot of deep, long lasting pain in my fifty years, and people who know my full story wonder how it is that I am joyful and optimistic to this day.

In raising my children, I taught them about the coin of life; that every single event in life has two inseparable sides - the bitter (death) and the sweet (life). God has gifted us the CHOICE of which side we focus upon.

This day I call the heavens and the earth
 as witnesses against you

that I have set before you life and death,
blessings and curses.

Now choose life,

so that you and your children may live,

and that you may love the Lord your God,

listen to His voice, hold fast to Him.

For the Lord is your life,

and He will give you many years

in the land He swore to give to your fathers,

Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.

Deut 30: 19-20 

Over and over - when I was buried in pain - I tapped into God and chose life as my focus. As the lifelong student I know myself to be, I have asked God time and again, "What are the takeaways here, Lord?"  During one of my darkest moments I remember the Holy Spirit whispering, "Dear daughter, this is but a season. It is not a lifestyle."  Hallelujah!

Let Him whisper to you if you are in a painful place.
I know He will, and HE makes ALL the difference!

I leave you with this verse.  Take note on two very special, pivotal words:

This thing I did command them:

Listen to AND obey My voice,

and I will be your God and you will be My people;

AND walk in the whole way that I command you,

that it may be well with you.

Jeremiah 7:23

Take the WHOLE of your current season.

Rest in His Sovereignty. 

Know He wastes NOTHING.

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