This is a special season of the year. It is the Holiday Season. The word holiday is derived from “Holy Days.” We set these days aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus born in Bethlehem. It is one season of the year and there are other seasons such as Lent and Easter.
As there are seasons in the year, there are season in life. Earlier today I officiated a funeral of one of our church members. It brought to close a season of her life which had many seasons throughout. When you come to the end of your days on this earth, you will be able to look back and immediately recognize those different seasons.
In Ecclesiastes 3:1 it says:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
There is a season when parents face sleepless nights with feeding a newborn baby. There is a season when those children later move out of the house and parents wonder what to do with their child’s room. There is a season where we grow older and begin to lose some of the independence we once had. The children we once took care of now take care of us. There are different seasons and right now you are in a certain season of life. Whatever season you may be in right now, here are some truths about the seasons to carry with you:
Seasons change
Whatever season of life you are in now, it will not last forever. This may be good news for you if you are in a difficult season where you are grieving a loss or struggling with with a unique challenge. You know there will be an end. You may not see the end, but know that nothing we now see with our eyes will last forever. It will all pass away.
Savor the season
If this is a season you particularly enjoy, make sure to savor every moment of it. For parents with young children, you cannot go back as much as you want. You only get to experience this current season of life one time. Make the most of it. There are no do-overs.
You can’t go back
There are some who try to hang on to a season of the past. There are more than a few parents who attempt to protect their children from growing up, because they do not want to lose their season of life. There is the young adult who fails to take responsibility because they want to hang on to that season where they fewer obligations to others. You cannot go back so embrace your current season.
Embrace the season you are in
This new season may be filled with uncertainties and challenges. There may be something precious lost from the previous season. At the same time there are joys to be discovered in each season of life. Many times we fail to experience the joys because we are still trying to hang on to the joys of the previous season. Until we let go of the past we will not be able to fully grasp the joys of the new season. There is something about the glory days. The glory days always seem more glorious looking back than when we experienced them. We tend to forget the unique and difficult challenges we faced during those seasons of the past and only remember the “good times.”
The Lord is lord over every season
Know that the Lord is lord over all. He is Lord over every season. Just as God helped you through a season of the past, he will help you in this new season. Everything else may change from season to season. People we journey through one season of life, may not be there for the next. But Jesus is that one constant companion in every season of life and he will be there till the end.
Make Every Season Sacred
The challenge that I have for you this week is to surrender your current season to the Lord. This is a holy season for you. What I mean is that if you are here, God has you here for a purpose. Just because your purpose from the previous season of life expired does not mean you no longer have a purpose. You just have a new purpose. This new purpose will bring as much fulfillment (and maybe more) than your purpose from the previous season. When we embrace our season and our purpose for that season, God will work amazing thing through us.
Cathy Longo says
Thanks so much Pastor Phil, I really needed this today. Cathy Longo
Betty says
Passing this on to my adult children. Thank you for your words of wisdom.
Joan Warwick says
Your words are filled with wisdom given you by our Lord and Savior. Thank you for your message to my heart and mind
Larry Sewell says
Pastor Phil,
Thank you for sharing this message! It really spoke to me tonight. God bless you