{Simple [Mon]days} Seasons

This weekend, my classmates and I celebrated our 10-year high school reunion! Ten years might as well have been a lifetime away when we were tossing our caps and heading to college; but looking back, goodness, they flew by. (And after all the reuniting and reminiscing, my mind and body were tired, so this Simple Sundays post is coming to you a day late.) In the three days of celebrating our past, sharing our present, and looking forward to our future, one scripture came to mind.

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven. A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace." {Ecclesiastes 3:1-8}

In the past ten years, we've all been through many different seasons. In my own life (and I'm sure, in yours) there have been seasons so full of joy I thought my heart might burst, and seasons so full of sorrow it felt like my heart might collapse. Then there were the busy ones, the boring ones, the frustrating ones, the ordinary, and the extraordinary.

No matter if we wish a season would last forever or if we wish it would end immediately, it always changes. One season always rolls into the next, and we can either fight it or embrace it.

The only constant in this constantly changing life is the unfailing love God has for His creation. And the truth that He has something to show us, give us, and teach us in every season.

I'm slowly-but-surely learning that if we choose to embrace the season, however easy or difficult that may be, we will move into the next one with more confidence, wisdom, and love - and most importantly, with a deeper connection to our Creator, more understanding of who we are in Him, and more knowledge of His great love for us and the world.

But we can always choose to fight, too. Just know that fighting leads to a hardened heart and more frustration than your mind was made to bear. (Can you tell I write from experience?)

Let's find the gift and find the good, no matter the season we're in. Let's choose to embrace, rather than fight, knowing that seasons were made to change.