Seasons

About 10 years ago, on a stint back home for a short break (my family and I had lived in another country), I realised that the ladies fellowship had become an important point of fellowship and relationship in my life.  Funny how one looks forward to going back home after a long period and then becomes too busy to actually enjoy the stay.  I thank God for the time we had shared with family and friends.  Just being able to catch up was worth the effort though.  The most interesting thing for me however, was observing people.  Having been blessed with the privilege of living in a foreign nation for a short period had enabled me to see people from a totally different perspective than I would have if I had never lived outside the country.  Maybe the exposure to different culture teaches you numerous ways of doing things and also enriches your life.

While it was challenging and even sometimes intimidating to meet with old friends who seemingly had moved much further along with their lives, it seemed to me that times for fellowship and relationships had suffered.  People did not seem to be as important as achieving goals.  That, I found very sad and wondered if it was as a result of success, or it was an unconscious sacrifice people made in order to be successful.

We all want to be successful.  God in the book of Joshua 1 promises us success if we are obedient to do all that is written in the Word.  I believe that the blessings of the Lord make rich and do not add sorrow.  Maybe it is the relational nature of most women that often leaves them feeling denied when relationships change, but someone once said that there all sorts of friends and some God gives for a season.  I think it gets easier when we accept that we may not always have the same kind of relationships with the same people at all the times.

Relationships change and so do we.  The Lord expects us to form new relationships in different spaces and seasons, not only to meet our human need to interact, but also to impart the knowledge we have to someone who might otherwise never have an opportunity  learn what we know either from experience or exposure.

The space and exposure given to us in different seasons of our lives, are many times for the benefit of others.  Since God never makes mistakes, we can be sure that He sent each one of us here for a purpose.  I want to believe that for the most part, His purpose is to affect positively, the lives of PEOPLE because people are His number one priority.  It would therefore be a good thing if every once in a while we asked ourselves how much we are affecting the lives of those we live with.  What efforts are we making to reach out to a lost and dying world?  What are we doing to give the knowledge that we have so freely received ourselves?  They may seem like difficult questions and yet they are quite simple really!  We can answer these questions in our day to day interactions with our colleagues, neighbours and even those who work for us in our homes.  There are always opportunities to invite people to our church services, fellowships and prayer meetings.  There are just the simple things we do in our every day routines to expose people to the gospel that can make an eternal difference in somebody’s life.  Even as I extend this challenge out there, I am actually challenging myself to ‘not be weary of doing well’ as encouraged in Galatians 6:9.

Question is how do we deal with changing seasons without getting overwhelmed?  Letting go is a difficult thing for a number of us.  Incidentally there are those who do not give a thought to letting go of people, places and assignments. Well, for those of us who do give a thought or two, apart from accepting that things do not always stay the same according to Gods plan, can trust God to transition with us.  This actually means making a deliberate effort to ask for help every time we need it and this time not from men but from God.  As elementary as that might sound, it is not always the first thought that comes to mind to a feeler and for this reason constant reminder is necessary.

Lately, I have found that holding on to seasons that were meant to have gone by can be more painful then letting go.  Sometimes holding on devalues a person by when we ought rather to be finding our value in God.  It can also bring you so much pain and even derail you along the narrow path that the word talks of that we are supposed to be treading on.  I suppose understanding and accepting that is helpful because at the very least we are able to ask God for help in honesty because we cannot truly move forward without His power and strength.

May God enable and help us as we consider the next steps in our lives.  If it is time to let go and move forward, it likely means that he has another opportunity for us ahead that will enrich us all the more and lift us up to the high calling of being His vessel.  If it is time to hold on and learn, may He show us and may we ultimately find contentment in Him.  All in all, may He receive the honor due Him in every season.