As I was standing on the porch this morning watching
Lucy wander around outside, a cool breeze gently blew leaves around in the
yard. In that moment I was reminded of fall.
But wait! What season is it? Yesterday it felt like spring!
I began to think about the different seasons and how
I’m always ready when the changes come.
I love that where I live I get to experience the changing of the seasons
(although now it’s getting more difficult to tell when one ends and one
begins). I think I’d get bored if I lived
in a place where the temperatures were always the same and where the wardrobe
never needed adjusting.
While thinking about the changes in the weather, my
mind quickly went from there to the different seasons of life. Some of those seasons are greeted with a warm
welcome while others are not.
I can honestly say that this winter season has been a
difficult one for me. The most difficult in recent years. I’ve had to watch my son struggle with a
season of depression and anxiety that took me off guard. While I am no stranger to these emotions, it
seemed more difficult for me to watch my child experience them.
I’m what you call a “mama bear”….yeah, even though
he’ll soon be 23. I’ve always been very
protective of him and will defend him in an instant, as if it’s a natural
reflex. But God’s been speaking to me
and teaching me even during this season of difficulty.
Although I cut the apron strings long ago and watched
my child leave the nest in search of his dreams, (cheering the entire time), I
still find myself wanting to fix things for him when the going gets tough. I
don’t like to see him struggle in life….even though we all have to at times.
This time of battling uncertainties has reminded me
that there are some things that only God can fix…if He even chooses to. Sometimes, instead of intervening, God
chooses to give us grace to get through the struggles we are experiencing…struggles
that are designed to teach us life changing lessons.
I believe that in this season, God wants to remind me
that Dillan doesn’t belong to me. He
belongs to Him. Always has. Always
will. He just blessed me with the gift
of not only being a mama, but being a mama to an adventurous, creative,
sensitive, devoted, beautiful, God-loving soul.
Dillan’s ambitions have taken us on more adventures
than I ever imagined. I have learned so
much through watching him chase his dreams and attempt to fulfill God’s calling
on his life.
Through the years, Dillan has encouraged me with his
devotion and study of God’s Word. He’ll
be the first to tell you that he’s far from perfect, but even in the mistakes
he makes in life, he has picked himself up time and again and knows to fight
with the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s Word.
In the past couple of months, I’ve watched him use the
power of the Word and prayer to pull himself up out of a pit of depression.
Frustration and anger were replaced with a renewed hope as God reminded him
that He is forever faithful and will never leave him. God will always complete the work He starts
in us.
Through this difficult time, I’m thankful to be
reminded that not only do the seasons change, we change as well. Our lives can and should reflect those
changes with the light of Christ illuminating the one constant thing……God’s
presence and faithfulness through it all.
“Sometimes God
calms the storm, sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms his child” –
Source
Unknown
Labels: faith
