“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven, a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break 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 cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to gain and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

Fall is one of my favorite seasons (spring is the other). When my son was in college in Southwest Virginia, I loved the scenic drive during this time of year (despite the 6-hour journey). I was in awe of the vibrant colors of the fall foliage. Only God’s canvas could display such a stunning colorful masterpiece. As beautiful as it was, the season changed, and the beautiful colors faded. Just as nature’s seasons will change, so will the seasons of our lives.

Life is a consistent rhythm of ebbs and flows, peaks and valleys, openings and closings, and beginnings and endings. There are seasons of pride and disappointment; success and failure; joy and heartbreak; employment and unemployment; love and loneliness; and lean times and abundance.

I grew up a country girl surrounded by corn, peanut, and soybean fields. Unbeknownst to me, I was witnessing the change of seasons through farming. There was a season when the farmers tilled the soil, planted the seeds, and ultimately harvested the crops. The same applies to the seasons of life—sometimes you will be in a preparation stage, there will be times of planting seeds (goodness, kindness, patience, encouragement, good work ethic, etc.) and then there are other times where you will be harvesting and reaping the benefits of what you have sown.

Some of life’s events are unavoidable and others may be self-imposed by a string of bad choices—I have experienced both. I have experienced seasons of joy and happiness on my wedding day and yet, there were seasons of heartbreak when I divorced. There were seasons of stability when I would visit my mom and she would call to check on me and seasons of grief and loss when she passed away; there have been seasons of confidence and yet there have been seasons of insecurity.

In an article titled, “The Season of Life,” Christian-Faith offered some things that are good to know about seasons:

1. No matter what season you are in, no season lasts forever. Good seasons come and go, as do bad seasons.
2. Change of seasons is not a sign that you are good or bad person. When bad things happen, it not a sign that you are a bad person. It is just a sign that bad things are happening.
3. Never let the season you are in define who are. Be careful what meaning you give things in the tough seasons of God.
4. Most seasons are followed by opposite seasons. There are a lot of things we cannot control. Life has a way of popping up with different things.
5. We need to build consistency in every season. Be patient, patiently rebuke, encourage, and give good teaching consistently.
6. Learn from every season that you are in. You can learn things in your dark seasons that enable you to minister hope and stability to others who will face these kinds of things in the future.
7. Keep the right season in your heart no matter the outside season. We cannot control what happens around us, but we can control what happens inside.
8. Prepare for the next season. Prepare for the time when the favorable wins will blow again.
9. God is at work in every season. There are season of fruitfulness and there are also seasons of hard labor.

What season are you currently in?  Remember, seasons change—your current situation will not last forever.  Be encouraged!

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