Soul Seasons

When I was in a difficult, dark time of my life a friend said to me, “You’re in a ‘winter of the soul,’ but spring will come again.”  These simple words helped me, and I learned a lot through the journey that followed.  Can I share just a couple of those learnings?

Firstly, God is always interested in the growth of His children. 

He desires that His kids flourish and bears fruit for His kingdom, but His ways and timetable are different than ours.  We easily embrace soul seasons of spring when there is renewal and expectation, of summer when growth is measureable and of fall when we see fruit and know we are productive. God knows that we also needs seasons of winter. In a “winter of the soul,” our inner life can feel barren and desolate. God may seem distant and uninterested, but that is not truth.  God has a purpose for and is working in every season of our lives.

Secondly, I can fight the winter season or embrace it as part of my discipleship journey.
          
I remember as a child falling off my bicycle and becoming a little frantic at the sight of the wound.  I can still hear my dad’s words to me, “Breathe deep and let it hurt.”  We live in a broken world and there is pain; but God has promised that He is with us, and He is always working.  Sometimes my response to difficult seasons of life can be to try to make the pain or the dry season go away.  God may be saying, “Can you just breathe deep and watch for the ways I am working?  Can you trust Me and just rest in My presence?” 

If our lives stay in productive season all the time, we can confuse the outward productivity for the Presence.  Choose to be quiet; to embrace the season and keep looking to God for what He is doing. He has gifts for us in every season.

In Him,
Rita


PS~ If you’re interested in reading more about life’s seasons, a great book on this topic is SpiritualRhythm:  Being with Jesus Every Season of Your Soul by Mark Buchanan. It’s available at Inspirations or any major online bookstore.