Even thought the seasons change, our hope doesn’t have to.
My mama and daddy just went to the North Carolina mountains for a week, with some cousins. They had a ball and Mama sent me some pictures of their beautiful surroundings. I’ll have to admit, it was breathtaking. I love the beach and the mountains equally. I feel closest to God in those places.
When I surround myself in the sphere of His creation, I can’t help but to feel His presence and hear His voice.
As I was looking at some of the pictures, I thought about how they would be even more spectacular in a month or so, when the leaves start turning colors, with bright oranges, yellows, and reds.
Then, I began to think that the trees have no idea that something even more beautiful is coming. They are content with the green. Yet, in the dead of winter, when they are completely bare, that green looks like the prettiest color ever.
But, even when they are bare, the work of growing, still goes on beneath the surface. There’s even beauty in the bareness because the stars in the sky, become even brighter. They aren’t obscured by the leaves.
The pictures stayed on my mind all week as I felt a little nudge reminding me that our lives can be a lot like those trees.
When things are green and we are growing fast and everything is going right, we sometimes can’t imagine that God has something better for us. We get content. We settle. Sometimes we stop listening and get complacent.
The green season is probably where we spend most of our time.
Then, there are seasons when something wonderful happens, our lives are filled with brilliant colors and mountain top moments, like births, weddings, new houses or new jobs. While those may tend to be our favorite seasons, they typically don’t last for very long.
Then there’s the bare seasons, when our comfortable reality seems to drop and disappear. It may look like we have nothing left and hope can get lost. But, just like the trees, when they are bare, these are the times, when heaven shines the brightest. These are the seasons when we depend on God the most.
These can be the seasons that grow our faith the most, because when we cry out to God and seek Him, He will answer. He will restore our hope and hold our hand as we journey into a new season, one even more beautiful than we ever imagined.
My mama’s mountain pictures reminded me that on this side of Eternity, we all go through different seasons, easy ones, beautiful ones and hard ones and that none of them last forever. Whatever season you may find yourself in today, remember, as a child of God, you never walk alone. A new season is coming.
Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you needed reminding too. Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂