Seasons In Our Lives

“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.”

– Eccl 3:1

Every season we experience in our lives has important meaning and purpose for us – good and bad. So, what season are you in right now?

Growing up in Eastern North Carolina I experienced “Tobacco season.” It was a hot, sticky, exhaustion filled season which provided for my uncle’s family. Looking back at that season, I learned the value of hard, grueling team work, laboring alongside people, and the satisfaction of completing a task from the beginning to the end.

I once owned a 105-acre farm in West Virginia. Being a “flat lander,” as Eastern North Carolinians are called, I was a bit out of place. I learned that even on this farm there were seasons also. There was trout season, deer season, dove season, mating season, planting season, growing season, harvesting season, calving season, hog killing season. Each season was unique, yet necessary and all had their challenges.

I wasn’t a farmer, but I persevered in spite of my lack of knowledge because I accepted and learned in that season, leaning on God as we navigated through it. Solomon is saying that we need to welcome every season and get the fullness from it because God has something to teach us in every season.

Ecclesiastes mentions some of these seasons. Birth, death, heal, weep, laugh, mourn, dance, embrace, gain, lose, speak, keep quiet, love.

When I accepted Christ, I was “Born Again.” My new birth meant I died to my old birth spiritually. It also meant that I was a new creation in Christ. I am now a “new me.” My DNA had changed.

This “new me” is to now live in Christ. This living in Christ is totally different than living my life my old way.

So, I needed God’s instructions. I found those instructions in the manufacturer’s handbook (The Bible). It contains what I need to live this new way God’s way. As I apply this biblical instruction to my life, my life is changed.

No matter where we are on our journey with God, no matter what we are dealing with, we can trust God to be here with us. As we seek God, praying to Him for guidance and searching God's Word, answers will be imparted to us that we don’t have now. God wants us to know Him, love Him, live for Him and to grow in our relationship with Him.

So, I encourage you to welcome, embrace and learn in every season you have including this season you are in right now. Know that God is with you as you learn and adapt in it to live for God’s glory.