Seasons

I never intended to take such a long break from this little blog, but between getting settled into my new job and getting MARRIED (I have a husband now- what?!) I’ve been a little busy!

Recently it’s been on my heart to write about the concept of different seasons in life. One morning on our honeymoon, Josh and I biked to Panera to do our Bible study (because I had a coupon for a free coffee, of course) and we ended up reading some great stuff in Ecclesiastes on the topic of seasons.

In Ecclesiastes 3, the author (Solomon) writes about how there is a certain time for everything under the sun, and how basically we are not in control of any of it. Our job is just to embrace whatever season we are in and thank God for the gifts He gives in the midst of it.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens… He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” -Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11

Right now, I am thankful to be in a season full of so much rejoicing and celebration. It is easy for me to embrace the excitement of this season- a wedding, a honeymoon, and figuring out what married life looks like. It is much more difficult for me to embrace the parts of this season that bring me sadness, such as being separated from Josh during the week while he is away on a clinical rotation. Yet Solomon assures us that while we may not know what God’s big picture plan is, we can trust that He will make everything beautiful in its time. Not my timing, necessarily, but His.

I’ve noticed that I tend to pull back from fully embracing a season of life, because often it’s easier to put my hope in a future season that hasn’t arrived yet. You know the drill- when you’re dating, you want to be engaged. When you’re engaged, you want to be married. Now that I’m married, I can’t wait until Josh and I are living in the same place. It’s almost second nature for me to assume that the next thing will be better- shiny and new and full of happiness- and maybe it will be. But maybe there is something that God wants to teach me in this moment, and if I’m too busy looking ahead, I’m going to miss it.

It’s exciting for me to think about how intentional our God is, and how this exact moment of our lives is fitting into His plan to make everything beautiful.

[Photo Credit: Rebekah Senter Photography]