To Everything, There is a Season

On Sunday, I attended church in cool, Fall-like weather. In Florida, churches were closed because of Hurricane Irma fast approaching. I barbecued outdoors and served my family dinner and special cake for Alexia's 10th day leading up to her Sweet 16. In Florida, many families were dispersed to shelters, hunkered down in their homes or stayed with friends or families further North. On Sunday night, I watched the Dallas Cowboys play and beat the New York Giants (Yay) in between watching the 2018 Miss America Pageant where my kids, Ryan, Shawntel (1996 Miss America) and their two youngest boys were celebrating that wonderful organization that provides such outstanding scholarships for young women. I’ll admit my conscience was disturbed as I was having such a beautiful day, while people in storm areas didn’t even know if they’d have a home to go home to the next day, or if they did, they didn’t know when their electricity would be back on or have access to running water.

King Solomon (son of King David) wrote these words in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
~ a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
~ a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
~ a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
~ a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
~ a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
~ a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
~ a time to tear, and a time to sew; time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
~ a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

That list represents the seasons and the important matters of our lives. Some are happy times, others sad; some are productive while others seem wasteful; some inspire peace and others bring pain. But, all of them are necessary for us to learn, grow, and be resilient and determined to press through or coast through “the seasons”. Their appearance is not by accident. If we look closely enough, each experience reveals a loving, divine purpose that we can learn to trust God more.

I share this with you from experience. I’ve experienced most all of those seasons that King Solomon referred to, especially “a time to be born, and a time to die” Today marks the birthday of my precious husband. . I enjoyed many seasons with him before his graduation day to heaven. There were times of weeping, and there were times of laughing. I laugh a lot these days. My time for weeping was over. There was a time to mourn and a time to dance.

I know it’s difficult to fathom any good that can come out of the devastation and heartbreak that has been experienced in the recent hurricanes, fires, and earthquakes. We prayed for the Lord to push this storm away from land and out into the sea, but instead it ravaged so many homes and businesses.

I pray each day for God's protection over my family and nation. I'm sure you do the same. But, when our prayers seem unanswered, how can we continue trusting the One to whom we pray? First of all, it's when our prayers seem unanswered that we MOST NEED to trust Him.

Today it may not feel like there is much hope on the horizon for an expeditious way out of our circumstances. The passage from here to there may seem like a dark and endless tunnel, but I assure you, one day, we’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel and we’ll realize the gifts we received during these days. If we remember that there is a gift in every crisis or challenge -- in every transition of life -- we will be able to go with the flow more easily. As we discover the gift in every season, we learn to trust that loving, divine purpose behind it. Then the current of life can carry us off to new adventures, more rewarding and exciting than any we may have chosen on our own.

Yesterday I spoke about “The Eye of the Storm”. If we respond to each storm and each season from the “eye” of God's presence within, where perfect peace and wisdom dwell, we will emerge even stronger, wiser, and freer than before. We may even morph into a beautiful, free butterfly for the first time because of the inner workings of God in our lives. Lord, please give us grace for every season so we can spread our wings and fly!

Fall is ON Its Way!

Day 245 of Photo Inspirations -- It's HOT in Tulsa -- But Fall is On Its Way!!!
I WIN!!!  I'm probably the first to get down my Fall decorations....and get my home all ready for this glorious season!  Hence, all the photos of my freshly decorated home for my photo inspirations, today!

Fall/Autumn really is my favorite time of the year. Though it was 94 degrees here in Tulsa yesterday, I sense, just around the corner, the leaves will begin turning into their gorgeous colors,  a cooling trend starts this week, soon we'll be able to turn off our sprinkler systems and turn up the thermostat in our homes.  We'll start thinking about our families gathering together, and all the other beautiful things about this season.

I love the changing seasons -- particularly here in Oklahoma.  We get four distinct seasons, and there are reasons to love each one......more or less.  I change the decor of my home as often as there's a change in the season.  I get rid of the old so I can embrace the new.

The Bible says there is a season for everything in life (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).  If only we could embrace those seasons as willingly as we embrace the seasons of the year.

It's not always easy to make the "seasonal" transitions in our lives.  When we are single, we want to be married.  When we are married, we want children and when we have children, we want them to be grown and out of the house.  When the nest is finally empty, we miss them so much and want them back -- at least for a little while.  But here's the thing.  God plans and gives us the seasons of nature and He ushers in the seasons in our lives and walks us through each and every one of them. All He desires is that we embrace what He is doing with faith and gratitude.  He is always working in us.  During the season of planting, when there is no harvest, God is watering, nurturing, fertilizing and maintaining us so that in due season we can bring forth beautiful fruit in our lives.

The greatest part about this Fall season is the attitude of gratitude that comes along with it.  And that gratitude should include thanking God for the season He has us in.  Every day is a gift, and whether that day includes joy, happiness, peace and comfort or whether it's stress-filled and challenging -- we know IT'S A PART OF THIS SEASON God has us in -- and in this season God is working ALL of the SEASON for our good.  Regardless of what season we are in, let's savor everything that it holds -- because THE ONE who controls the seasons, is THE ONE who will carry us through each one.  HAPPY FALL!