One thing that’s for sure, as days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, we eventually stumble upon a new season that is marked by recognizable differences. As the cold fronts drift away, new life begins to bloom as the ground defrosts and plants can make their glorious appearance once again.
I have lived my whole life as a New Englander and New England gives an expression of every season in its fullness: Hot summers, fall foliage, snow-covered, icy winters, and spring showers that bring May flowers.
The most frustrating thing about season changes is the unpredictable weather in transition. Upon exiting winter and entering spring, you leave the house in a jacket and boots, and halfway through the day, realize you need shorts and a shirt. The next day you dress lighter, only to step outside and realize it snowed again! Cold hot; cold hot. You never know what the day will be like until you’ve fully entered the spring season and winter has passed.
We go through these same types of cycles in life, experiencing personal season changes. And most often, they can be very uncomfortable. Graduating from one season to the next isn’t the hard part. The challenge comes in the TRANSITION, the space between that seems full of uncertainty and doubt. Just as we can’t predict how to clothe ourselves from winter to spring and we can feel the weather changing but we are still stuck in a crossover between the two seasons, there is this unknown space in our transitions that feels like two worlds are colliding and we have an unending list of questions with no answers and no understanding.
I personally find myself in this matrix of my seasons changing. I’ve struggled to hear the Lord. I’ve struggled to understand what’s happening and where the Lord is taking me. I’ve asked Him question after question and yet all feels silent. Yet in the uncertainty, I can feel the warmth of the spring season in the distance, shining it’s rays of sunshine upon my face.
God finally gave me a glimpse, a sliver of understanding to put my heart at ease. And this is what I share with you today, in hopes that maybe someone else who is in the middle of their process will find a comfort and determination to keep going.
God showed me an image of myself standing with one foot in one season and the other foot in another season. I have not yet left the former season, but I have not yet entered the new season. I stand in the present place of TRANSITION where I can feel both seasons so real, yet still feel so uncertain. Just as the natural seasons transition and we don’t know what to wear or what temperature it will be day to day, as our spiritual seasons change, we may not know how to clothe ourselves and we may feel uncertain about what is to come.
Our hope and promise is that the season WILL CHANGE! God will not leave us in transition forever! Keep seeking Him, sit still, and wait on the Lord! He always has His best in mind for His kids and every season has a purpose for growth. He stretches us, pushes us beyond our comfort level, and calls us higher. Just as a good parent challenge their children to the next level, God, as a good Father, calls us into new seasons and higher elevations. And it’s good. And we can praise our way through it, knowing that even though the transition can feel dark and gloomy, the Son will break through and shine light and life into our lives once again!
Maybe we can learn to embrace the transition of change. Maybe, just maybe, the joy of fulfilling our purpose is right there on the other side of transition. And it will be good. And it will be worth it.
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