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To the person anticipating the next season

So with spring being right around the corner (7 days to the exact), one would expect the sunshine to be here; greeting us with flowers blooming while simultaneously waving goodbye to the melting snow.  Well, here in good ole' New England is the polar opposite; from an intense blizzard dumping a solid 2 feet of snow, to a flurry leaving another 3 inches, to the weatherman predicting another snowstorm... all in the time span of only one week. I guess it's safe to say that spring may have to hit a couple pit stops before settling in for the season.

A popular opinion that I've been hearing a lot is how Mr. Winter has overstayed his welcome; a very valid opinion to say the least.  I mean I get it, after counting down the days until spring, then being hit with a plethora of snow right before, it's easy to feel disappointed, anxious, and impatient.  The season that your eyes have been fixated on for so long and the growing anticipation; all to be brought down in a disgusting pile of discouragement.  

We can look at the snow as an inconvenience and stay cooped up inside our houses, or we can go outside and embrace what we were given.   We can be consumed with sadness because this current season seems to be dragging on, or we can find a different purpose for the time being.  This may be quite the unpopular opinion, but that's probably a good thing.  You may not even believe it at first, but that's okay.  God will put us through seasons that don't seem to make a lot of sense; that is when we look to Him to help us see the purpose in what seems to be a subtle inconvenience.

"Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother's womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.  Plan your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don't know if profit will come one activity or another- or maybe both." Ecclesiastes 11:5-6 [NLT]

Time is so precious.  Think about it: there is so much work to be done that we waste so much time with by being sad and worried.  Don't get me wrong, it's a  good thing to be excited and desire what the Lord has in store in the future.  The Lord has a plan and keeps His promises for our life!  But remember how precious it is to be still and remain in the present.  The season will feel less purposeful and long if you keep anticipating the next one.

While we may not have the power to change the season we are currently in, we do have the power to change how we look at it.  We do have the power to declare purpose in the season we're in.  And we do have the knowledge that nothing we do is wasted because the Lord is constantly at work. 

Just a quick reminder: it's okay to feel different emotions when you're walking through your current season.
In 2 Corinthians 6:10, Paul says that he is "sorrowful yet always rejoicing."  Just because you're immersed in tears due to the seemingly consuming stresses that came with this current season, does not mean your joy has been robbed.  When you have Christ dwelling within you, everlasting joy is inevitably accompanied.  Your joy won't diminish because the Lord will never leave you.  We will go through difficult seasons but the Lord is there to encourage you and build your character through your perseverance.  

Sadness can certainly feel like a restraint from the freedom we are already given.  But know that the things we walk through are always used to serve for a greater purpose.

Spring is close, but it's not here yet.  So go outside, embrace the inevitable snow, and the Lord will surprise you when you least expect it.  


"Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see." Hebrews 11:1 [NLT]


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