Seasons

Seasons. I love them.

In Florida we have 3: hot, really hot, kind of cold.

But those aren’t the seasons I’m talking about. Life has seasons.

Good seasons: these are ones we can see coming 90% of the time (like a new baby) and we don’t really want them to end.

Bad seasons: these are ones that 90% of the time, we don’t realize are here until we are in the middle of. Sometimes we can see them coming to an end (like finding a job after being out of work) and we feel a great need to throw a party when they are over.

I love seasons. They have a beginning and an end. Life is full of seasons, overlapping seasons.

Right now I’m in the middle of a stay-at-home mom-raise my boys-lead worship with my husband-lead youth with my husband-assistant leader of a connection group (with my husband…good thing I really like him)-do a variety of things for church-play with my boys-enjoy many slow hours at home-choose what I get to do with most of my days kind of season. It is wonderful.

A year and a half ago my season looked like this: work 20 hours, be at school 20 hours, study at home with a 2-1/2 year old, pregnant and not feeling well, try and still lead worship, youth, and connection group, not have enough hours in the day or enough energy to make it through the day kind of season. When that season ended, I should have thrown a BIG party!

I was contemplating seasons yesterday (remember how I said I had lots of time of home so I contemplate things now, it is my hobby!)…and I was thinking about a season that I am ready to end. It isn’t a bad one. It has just been a long one and I’m ready for it to be done. Between you and me, I think this season is going to end later than I would like. I was praying about it…

Finish well.

Finish well? What does that have to do with when this season is going to be done?

Finish well.

Ah, I get it. No matter when the season ends and no matter how I’m “feeling”, I need to finish well. It is God who is the Author of my seasons and it is for Him that I am doing this. I must finish well.

Amazing how those two words, 10 letters, have given me that extra push to run harder and finish this season with all of the excellence that I started it with. Kind of like seeing your spouse with 2 miles left in a marathon (well, I can only imagine what that would be like because there is no way I’d ever run a marathon, not even in my dreams).

I love seasons.

I’m enjoying the good seasons, praying through the bad ones and remembering those 10 letters for the season that I’m ready to be over.