Seasonal change

 

We are beginning to experience the effects of a new season. We have slipped from summer to fall in the blink of an eye, and winter is soon to follow. Here in Indiana, we experience 4 seasons in a calendar year, and sometimes they overlap on the same day. These seasons come and go, and after a few of them have passed, we become accustomed to them. Some seasons are more appreciated, like summer and fall, and for those who are more touched by it, the winter months are preferred. We all have our favorites, and those others, not so much.

Our lives are not only filled with seasonal weather changes, but also with emotional seasons. Like the climate changes we experience, our seasons come and go, and we get accustomed to some, prefer others, and there is nothing we can do to stop them. These emotional seasons in our lives are as inevitable as the changing weather, and they can be up or down, leaving us happy or sad.

Our impassioned seasons can bring on many changes in our lives, both good and bad. Like a spring storm, they can develop out of nowhere and be very destructive to our surroundings. It’s important to remember that you are not alone in these struggles, as we all face our own emotional seasons.

Mark Harmon

Emotional seasons cannot be curtailed, but we can protect ourselves from them. Just as we seek shelter during a severe storm, we also need to seek shelter when a severe poignant season comes roaring through our lives. Most commonly, these emotional tornadoes involve loss. Death or divorce surely top the list, the loss of a job or career, or possibly the loss of our health or the onset of a disease. When we see the weather turning violent, we know where to go to be safe, but many of us do not know where to go when those emotional seasons rip through our lives. However, faith in Jesus Christ can provide the shelter we need during these storms, offering us peace and resilience. It’s this faith that reassures us that we are not alone and that there is hope even in the midst of the storm.

There is only one refuge for the fierceness of an emotional storm, and that is in a relationship with Jesus Christ. I tried to weather those storms through my own toughness and grit for years, but they always left me devastated. I tried to find shelter in alcohol, drugs, sex, possessions, hurting others, and trying to pretend I was ok. God knew I was a hardheaded individual, so he took some drastic action to get my attention. He showed me that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t weather these storms alone. Because of his love for me and you, we find the safe harbor to weather those emotional seasons. Perhaps you are in a season right now that appears to be so powerful that there is no way you will survive. I’ve been there, and I can tell you that with Jesus, you cannot only survive but also find peace and joy amidst the storm.

If you surrender it all to Jesus Christ, let go of your own control, and realize that life is full of good and bad seasons, God will ensure that you survive it all. I still struggle with some seasons like the recent death of a good friend, but I also have joy within that storm as I know where he is, bringing comfort. Without my relationship with Jesus Christ, I know what it would be like, but with Jesus, I get to watch the storm go raging past with minimal damage to my heart. If you want shelter from the stormy seasons in your life, Jesus is the way; he is also the truth and the life. Remember, in Jesus, there is always hope and comfort, even in the midst of life’s storms. By surrendering control to Jesus, you can find empowerment and peace even in the most turbulent of times. With a relationship with Jesus Christ, you, too, can be prepared for that “Seasonal Change.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 NIV

1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do workers gain from their toil?

10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.

11 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.