Changing Seasons

There's been a whole lotta shaking goin' on!

The first part of this year has been a season of major shifting in my life. I sometimes envision my life as this giant chess board and imagine God strategically arranging pieces. Now, I don't know the first thing about chess, so from my viewpoint, not a whole lot of it makes sense because I don't really get why it matters that certain pieces are in certain positions. But apparently, it matters very much!


Among a whole lot of other things, this has been a season of lots of familiar relationships coming to an end or dramatically changing, (not necessarily in a bad way). There come certain times in our lives where a change in direction is needed, or a repositioning towards destiny, you could say. However, being that we humans like comfort, we resist change when it starts to make its appearance. It may not be anything you or they've done wrong, but suddenly people will just leave the relationship and it seems like it comes out of nowhere. Maybe they need to grow into another area of their own. Maybe God is bringing separation for your own good. Maybe it's just a change of seasons.

When I look back over my life, I clearly see the seasons of my life and the relationships that ended that I was sad to see end. To be honest, there were other relationships I was glad to see end.  Thankfully, some of the friendships made over the years were lifetime relationships that have remained. I am so grateful for that. They are few but they are very special and it allows me to have a pleasant connection to what may have been a challenging season. I think of them as treasures God allows you to collect along the way through life.

What I now understand, is that without those changes in seasons, I would be stuck in a wrong position in my life and would never have been able to move forward into my purpose in life. Just like in my current life, I don't want to stay here in this place. It's had its wonderful times and its hard times, but I know there is more - much more. However, in order to get to the next place, transition is required and with transition always comes relational changes. I'm not going anywhere, but things and people around me are.

I will really miss some of the people I have become so comfortable with over the last few years. I pray that at least one or two of those leaving will remain lifetime connections. The dynamic of the relationship will obviously be different, but those of like spirit seem to be able to weather that kind of transformation. You know those kinds of friends you can go long periods between visits, yet you can jump right in where you last left off? Those are priceless!

As Spring in the natural world is winding down to usher in Summer, So in the spiritual realm I believe there has been some "spring cleaning." Sometimes you need to freshen things up by just moving some things around. I'm like that in my house. I get tired of things staying the same too long. Just moving some furniture around makes me feel like I've got a brand new space and if feels fresh and nice for a change. Relationships can get stale too. Not anybody's fault. It just works that way.

I guess what I'm saying is, don't fight the changing of the seasons of your life. People you love to be around will need to move on some day. Not all, but probably most. It's okay. You might even mourn the loss for a little while. But, just know that whenever God brings these seasons of change and removes some things from your life, it's so that He can add something new in. New people, new experiences, new divine connections. Embrace those that enter your life. You just never know what richness they will add to your life -- and maybe, you're just what they need to get through the season they're in. Appreciate them while they are in your life, because there may come a time when the seasons will change again and you will have to say goodbye.

Ecclesiastes 3

Everything Has Its Time

¹ To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:
² A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
³ A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
⁷ A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.