"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Gal. 6:9
It’s a beautiful, sunny day and for the first time in quite a while I’m sitting outside on my porch taking it all in. I guess I’m realizing anew just how amazing and wonderful the changes in seasons actually are.
I recall several years back when I wasn’t so grateful about the nearing of spring. I suppose it might sound a little crazy to someone who hasn’t experienced it — and maybe I’m alone in those feelings and not too distant memories. However, there was a time when I cried as the first leaves of autumn began to fall and was also a bit angered as the first peeps of green grass came poking through the soil in the spring. As I look back, I understand my feelings in that season, yet I am thankful that with the seasons of life, I have changed too.
When we’re smack-dab in the middle of hard life seasons it seems like all we desire is to be done with it and on to the next. Nobody likes the darkness, but in certain seasons it is necessary. Just as with seasons though, we must be patient and trust the process of the one we’re in now. A fast pace isn’t always an indication of growth Looking back, I can see how in those seasons God was doing something within me.
I know green blades of grass don’t just magically appear; something is happening under the soil way before we see the proof, right? I suppose it’s the same way with our lives. God does things in the darkness that we don’t actually realize until the beginning of the next season. It’s only then that we can look back and see it with our own eyes and realize, even then, God had a plan and purpose for it all. He’s good at that, you know?
We cannot always see or feel Him working, but that doesn’t mean He isn’t.
My grand girl recently learned a cute, little song about how a butterfly is formed. Y'all, it was even cuter with the little hand motions. I was smitten! As I listened to her sweet little song, I was reminded, even a butterfly goes through dark seasons and it seems nothing is happening within the chrysalis, until the beauty of it’s newly emerged, fluttering, wings catches our attention. God does that!
I often tell people I wouldn’t trade anything for the lessons I’ve learned while in the valley seasons and I honestly mean it. The hard, dark seasons are where we grow the most when God is allowed free reign to work on our behalf. Yes, It’s hard. Takes time. Sometimes, quite a long time.
But. It’s. Worth. The. Wait.
Yes, there may be some seasons we don’t enjoy, but the beautiful thing about seasons are that they will change. And we will as well, no doubt about it! Just hang in there and go through the process. We don’t need to have arrived just yet, as long as we’re still taking steps forward. Some things just take time to come into fruition, it doesn’t mean we’ll forever stay there…but just for now. God is in control!
I suppose the most beautiful thing about enduring the hard seasons is that we don’t come out empty; quite the opposite in fact, we can actually leave a season full. God brings us through that we may testify of His goodness and faithfulness, to be a light of hope to others, and to realize that wherever we may be in any particular season and at any given moment, we have hope.
No, it doesn’t happen overnight, but in every dark night (season) God is working on a glorious unfolding that blooms in His time. We just have to be patient, learn to trust Him and not lose hope.
It’s well worth the wait. Be encouraged if you’re in a difficult season right now. Something is happening beneath the soil — and in the soul.