Seasons

 I turned off the alarm. I wouldn’t need it this morning. No need for it to chime me awake. I’d been awake for close to an hour. Thinking. Praying. Thinking some more. Willing myself not to think. Praying. Trying to go back to sleep. Thinking about sleep. Willing myself to go back to sleep. Just before 5, I decided to head for the Keurig.

Two days ago, we celebrated my dad’s honorary seventieth birthday with homemade apple pie and vanilla Blue Bell. Four years. Four years since I gave him his last birthday hug. We didn’t know then that time was fleeting. It was just a normal Tuesday afternoon.

That’s the thing about seasons. They guarantee change.

I didn’t expect that two days later we would find ourselves in the ER with dad. Dad? He was healthy. He was Mr. Fix-it for our family. Always ready to listen. Always the giver of wisdom. Yet in this moment, feeble. That’s a lot for a daughter to take in, regardless of age. We knew that night, huddled in the hospital room, that our lives were changing. Our world was shifting.

That’s the thing about seasons. They guarantee change.

We don’t always get the ribbon-tied package we hope for. Sleep is evasive. Our bodies are imperfect. Illness strikes. Test results deliver blows we didn’t see coming. But amidst our seasons, God is faithful. During my dad’s battle with cancer, my family became like a battalion. Strong in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10) and united by His strength.

The season changed. We longed for more time. Healing. But seasons guarantee change. The Lord’s time. His direction.

I don’t know where you find yourself today. In a season of harvest or drought. Grief or jubilance. Yearning or plenty. God is present in our seasons. He is present. He is with us, placing His angels charge over us (Psalm 91:11).

Let Him carry you through your seasons. Hold His hand. Grip it tightly. Because that’s the thing about seasons. They’re guaranteed to change.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIRV)
There is a time for everything. There’s a time for everything that is done on earth.

Psalm 90:12 (NIV)
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.