It’s just a few days before the first official day of Summer as I sit on our couch, writing this post. The weather has been a hot topic of discussion as my friends from coast to coast have commented on how it still feels like winter. Today it’s actually drizzling here, rain spotting the ground and outside my window one of our trees is steadily dropping its leaves.
“To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, and in the same field, it beholds, every hour, a picture which was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
It reminds me of how life is, how sometimes even though we’re ready for the sun to shine, cold winds blow and storm clouds continue to loom. But our lives can’t stop just because of a little inclement weather. We may want to stay snuggled up in our beds, but we must get up and face the day. I don’t mind rain, but my hair sure does. On a day like this, my wardrobe is picked based on what accessory I’ll use to cover my hair to keep the frizzies from coming out. I bundle myself up in riding boots and a scarf (I know, I know…..it’s probably 68 degrees outside, but that’s what we do in SoCal). I prepare myself to face the weather I expect to encounter. But often times, by midday I find myself overdressed. I’ve piled on a sweater and a scarf and boots, but by noon, the sun has come out and it’s now 74 and beautiful, and I'm hot and sweating. Why did I waste all that time worrying about the weather and preparing myself for the worst that never came?
“Embrace this season of your life, because it’s just that, a season.” — Anonymous
Has that happened to you? You think you’re in one season in your life, but you realize later that things turned out better than you expected? Have you "worried yourself into a tizzy" as my Mom would say, and then later realized that there was nothing to worry about? Have you prepared for the worst, only to realize later that there was no need to worry because God had a plan?
“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.” — Ecclesiastes 3:1
Preparation is good. I’m definitely not recommending that you go outside in flip flops if it’s raining, but sometimes we get so focused on what things look like right now, that we forget that God can turn things around. We forget the previous seasons of our life that He brought us through. We let our fear cloud our memory of His faithfulness. Just like spring, summer, fall and winter, the seasons of our lives come and go. Whatever season you’re in now, know that He is still in control. Know that you have no idea what He has in store for you, but that whatever it is, it is ultimately for your good. (Romans 8:28) Know that no matter how long this season lasts, sunshine is coming. (Jeremiah 29:11) As you prepare for the inclement weather you might face today, don't forget to look forward with hopeful anticipation to what God will do tomorrow. No season lasts forever, but God is still God in every season.
