It is Fall. I have developed a fond appreciation for this season. The nip in the air, scarves, the changing leaves (my personal favorite), boots, the pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING, babies in adorable costumes, college football (though, let's be honest, I don't know any of the rules, I am mildly apathetic towards it, but I love the ambiance of it all. Truth bomb). It's really just a great time of year. Growing up along Alabama's coastal shores, we didn't have much of a Fall. Or seasons, really, for that matter. In Mobile, it's mostly just summer, end of summer, Christmas, and almost summer. Yep. It's funny 'cause it's true.
Which brings me to my point. Seasons. Whether we are talking about the literal four seasons or the seasons of life, seasons always bring about change. Warm summer nights end and falling leaves take their place. Late nights of chatting and drinking wine with your besties are replaced with late night feedings and chats with, well, yourself (because ain't nobody keeping you company at 2 am, friend). Whatever changes have taken place in your life, most of us can say that where we are right now and is not where we were five years ago. You are in a different "season of life."
That phrase once drove me crazy. Like, it truly got on my nerves. I thought to myself, "Seasons of life, how laaaaame." I'm not sure why I felt this way, until I realized just how applicable it is to, well, life. We are in seasons. Some seasons are so much more fun and exciting than others (hello, summer and all your sweet summertime glory) while others are bitter and cold and bring about new change and growth ("Always winter, never Christmas"). Like being a newlywed, for instance. For me, it was kind of a combination of summer and winter all rolled into one. I was so excited to FINALLY be able to live with my husband and do all the other wifely new and exciting things that come along with that (keep ya heads out of the gutter, people). And then you quickly realize that hey, boys are messy no matter how clean they say they are and sometimes they get on your nerves and do they ALWAYS snore and why are there socks everywhere and close the shower curtain back and on and on and on. My. Sinful. Heart. Was. Ex. POSED. I quickly realized how selfish I was. So I worked on that. This was a very sanctifying season in life. And I thought to myself, "Well, I must be done growing and surely I am the most selfless version of myself I can be. Look how great I am. The Lord has done wonders." And then I had a baby.
Two of my most precious, dearest, and oldest friends have recently been thrown head first into the dark, deep-end of motherhood. Their sweet baby boys are both around a month old, and, it has to be said, God made newborns adorable because sometimes, you don't really like them all that much. A friend in my bible study described those first six weeks as "such a dark season" and while she was joking and we all laughed, IT IS SO TRUE. It is. I'm watching my sweet friends struggle and battle with some of the very same things I dealt with and I just want to rescue them and help them, but that's not my job. It's no ones job. This is their story. This is their dark season. I encourage them often that it will get better (and it does, it really does), but that you can't wish to be in a season you're not. You can't skip winter and go straight to spring. You have to trudge through the snow to get to the green grass (or some winter-to-spring analogy). THE POINT IS, the Lord has designed our lives in such a way that we can look back to see the growth.
As I watch my friends become wonderful, caring, nurturing mothers, I am reminded of where The Lord has brought me in only a years time. I am in a different season. And a year from now I'm sure I'll be somewhere completely different, as will they. And we will look back on these times and laugh (God willing), but until then, we must learn to embrace the season that we are in and remember, there's always summer. ;)
