Weathering the Seasons

The end of a season can feel like a fail.

Driving up the mountain, my daughter-in-love Hilary and I notice the dry summer leaves along the roadway. Despite ninety degree days, the longer, cooling nights testified to the imminence of fall.

“I always feel like I have to hurry up at the end of a season. Like the things I was supposed to do in the summer haven’t happened yet,” Hilary remarked. “I do love fall though.”

I understand. As I come to the end of a season of fifteen years of homeschooling, I’ve felt similar emotions. I’m not done. There are things I never got to, both academic and personal. There are regrets. But there’s also excitement for the new season in front of me.

Like the changing weather between physical seasons, transitions between one season of life to the next can be confusing and disorienting. One day you get caught without a sweater and are given a reality check by the cold, and the next you’re peeling off layers. With all the unpredictable change, it can be hard to know how to weather the seasons. (<====Click to Tweet)

These are some things I’m trying to keep in mind during this transition time.

GIVE YOURSELF FREEDOM TO MOURN THE END OF THE SEASON. Change is just hard, and regret and sorrow are part of life. Denying my emotions won’t make them go away (they’ll actually just scream louder), so I’m letting myself feel and trusting God’s good plan.

GIVE THANKS FOR ALL THE GOOD AND LET GO OF UNMET EXPECTATIONS. Man makes His plans, but God directs His steps. That’s a huge comfort, and it gives me the confidence to let go and move forward.

LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEW SEASON AND ITS SURPRISES. As I recount God’s goodness in my past, I can be certain of His goodness for my future.

CONTROL THE THINGS YOU CAN. And don’t even try to control the things you can’t. Enough said.

GIVE YOURSELF AND THOSE CLOSE TO YOU GRACE IN THE TRANSITION. And more grace and more grace. Your heavenly Father does, so follow His lead.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, REMEMBER WHERE THE FINISH LINE REALLY IS. It’s tempting to think “This is it!” But while the seasons of life are temporary, YOU are eternal. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11) That means your finish line isn’t at the end of any season of life. It’s at the end of a life, and no one knows where or when that really is. So run well today.

And enjoy the weather.

Shared By: Kim Hyland

Photo credit: Hilary Hyland