To everything there is a season....

This morning marked a milestone in our house. I packed up and put away my husband's walker, cane, and all the bags of therapy and post-operative equipment that we had collected since his knee-replacement surgery in June. He received welcome news from his surgeon at his appointment this morning that he can discontinue his blood-thinner medication, and he doesn't have to be seen again until next year! That makes us happy for a couple of reasons: we have both really disliked the Coumadin diet, which didn't allow him to basically eat anything healthy. Green vegetables and salads were out and starches were in! Now we can go back to eating our veggies! Secondly, it means that he is making progress with his daily visits to the gym and pool at the Y and he gets to continue his exercise regimen toward his goal of strengthening his leg.

A few months ago, that walker and then the cane, along with the medical supplies, were absolutely indispensable. I couldn't have imagined packing them away. I was thinking about this the last few days as I put away my patriotic summer decor and got out my pumpkins, scarecrows, apples, wreaths, and other fall decorations. It seemed like I was just decorating our house for summer, and now the summer season is past and fall is upon us. We carefully plant annual flowers in the spring and then dig them up when they are finished blooming for the summer and replace them with something else.

This all reminds me of the verse in Ecclesiastes 3:1 - "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." When we reflect on this, we realize that God indeed does have a designated time and a purpose for everything He allows in our lives. The key to our peace and contentment is to accept and appreciate God's perfect timing of everything in our lives.

Our lives as women are made up of seasons. Each one has its challenges and its joys. We may be young, single women who are trying to figure out what God wants us to do and make hard choices about where we will go to school, what we will study, who we will marry or not marry, where we will live. There is the season of motherhood, when we are so busy raising our children that we wonder if we will ever have a moment to ourselves again. There may be years spent homeschooling, in contrast with years spent in outside employment or working at home. There is the empty-nest season when we have to adjust to just being the two of us again and relating to our now-grown children as adults, and learning to be a grandmother.... There are seasons of illness and health, of friendships that were once strong but fade when one of you moves away or on to a different season. There are seasons of being a caregiver and the one receiving the care. Yes, to everything there is a season.

This is a lesson to me in a couple of ways. We need to learn to appreciate the good times and try to live "in the moment", because nothing lasts forever. So often we are always looking forward to "the next thing" and we miss enjoying the blessings of the here and now. We can also be encouraged that if we are going through a difficult season, God has a limit to it and will bring it to an end when it is HIS time.

In addition, we can look for what lessons God wants us to learn in every season of life. I am a firm believer that God does not put us in any season that He will not somehow use in our lives or the lives of others. He has lessons to teach us and experiences to help us grow and things for us to learn. No matter what season you are in right now, you can know for sure that it will not last forever, and you can be confident that He has something for you to learn. And in every season, He will give you all the grace and strength you need, because it is all under His sovereign control.

Thoughtfully,
Kathi