by Lisa Song
In the sweltering summer heat, all I want is the cold winter breeze. In the frigid winter blast, all I want is for the summer sun to warm my face. Wishing and wanting have made so many seasons go by without fully enjoying them because I was always looking forward to the next season. In our walks of faith, there are seasons of favor and seasons of swimming against the tide. In Ecclesiastes 3, King Solomon describes that there are seasons of satisfaction and seasons of disappointment. There will be a time to plant and a time to uproot (verse 2). There will be time to mourn and a time to dance (verse 4). There will be time to be silent and a time to speak (verse 7). But even in the midst of these polarizing seasons, Solomon gives credit to God, saying that God is the author of all seasons from beginning to end (verse 11).
Every season is a gift from God.
Don’t waste your season
Self-awareness is a huge tool in learning how to assess your current season. Being self-aware is not just about understanding who you are now, but why you are the way that you are. Your past seasons have shaped you for the present, but with self-awareness you have an opportunity to shape your future. What season are you currently in? Identify it, pray through it, and learn from it. Self-awareness leads to understanding and understanding leads to learning.
There is always something to learn in the destination of every season. Praise is the highway, but complaining is the detour. Bill Johnson says this about praise and complaining. “Complaining is to the devil what praise is to God.” Praise will clarify your season while complaining will muddle it.
Becoming a mom was the role I was looking forward to the most but the one that I was the least prepared for. With that came its challenges and then the complaining, comparing, and craving for the next season. My losses were overshadowing the gains. My complaints were masking the indescribable joys. ‘Am I doing this right? How long will this last? I don’t have enough time. I don’t sleep enough. My body will never be the same.’ I confided in one of my mentors, who reassured me that the current season I am in is temporary, and there will be a day when I will actually miss the days of this season. She told me the key to true joy is to “dance upon the ground you stand on.” I found the reason for my season. My daughter was and is God’s gift to me, yet here I was complaining.
I’ve heard that the grass is always greener on the other side and in my relationships with people from different life stages and various professions, I’ve realized something; we have lost the value of the current season. There is a constant cycle of disappointment because the world’s definition of happiness is set on circumstances; therefore, people can never be truly satisfied because circumstances are constantly changing. It’s easy to lose sight of the good in our current season, especially when we are longing for the next season. So then how does one find joy in the current season even if it’s one of disappointment? The key is to nurture our relationship with Jesus and to stop comparing our seasons to other people’s.
“The grass is not greener somewhere else; it’s greener wherever you water it. If you nurture and water your relationship with Jesus Christ on a daily basis, you will be content regardless of your circumstances.” – Christine Caine
People tend to compare their worst to somebody else’s best. The comparison trap forces you to start off your comparison on uneven grounds. You may feel as if someone is ahead of you or behind you, but everyone is running his or her own race at his or her own pace. God is the God of all seasons, and He is the God of YOUR season. He has made everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). In His time, this season will end. In His time, the breakthrough will come. In His time, the testing will pass. Trusting in His time requires you to trust in His goodness, His faithfulness, His power, His plans, and not yours.
Sometimes, I catch myself wishing and praying for the blessings of tomorrow, but then I remember to count the blessings of today.