Good morning! Saturday morning to be exact. I was up before the sun which rarely happens on the weekend, but today my heart is excited! I couldn’t sleep anymore! How can I describe what my heart is feeling? It is like summer has just begun. Although I am fully aware fall has set in, my heart feels something different! I am like a child and the school bell rang for the last time. I am running out of the school doors to sunshine, green grass, blue waters and freedom to explore wherever the wind and my imagination may take me!

To be genuinely excited about something in your life can be a rare gem. Let me tell you friend, it is a gem I am treasuring! Why? Because life has not always been this way. I can recall a time when life felt like the dead of winter! I was a flower that had died, buried beneath the earth’s surface, wondering if I’d ever bloom again. I was depressed, hopeless, and without vision. Let me explain. I was in my early twenty’s, and life did not go as planned. Big shocker, I know! I had returned home from ministry school and thought I’d be co-starting a ministry with my mentor. Instead, I ended up in direct sales with products I wasn’t passionate about selling! Ever tried door to door sales? I don’t recommend it! I tried setting goals for this job to stay motivated, but the truth is, when the dream of starting a ministry died, I died inside too! To make matters worse all my friends had returned to school, started careers in other places or had gotten married! I was extremely lonely! In August of 2000, I penned these words in my journal: “Oh Lord, only you can make this dry tree flourish and produce fruit again. You know how incapable I feel, frustrated and discouraged too! I know you brought me back (home) for a purpose. Help me see it clearly. Where is my place here now?” Ever had a season where your hopes and dreams died, and you were left with the feeling of now what? That’s exactly where I was!

Yet, it was in that season God spoke so clearly to me. No! I did not hear an audible voice. It was that still, small voice speaking to my heart. I can still recall exactly where I was! I was in my car (music playing) driving down County Road 707. This is what I heard, “Listen to this song. It is for you. I have something to teach you.” What was the song? It was “Every Season” by Nicole Nordeman. In this song, she beautifully paints a picture of every season – summer, autumn, winter, spring – and how God is in every season! I get chills even now as I think about it!!

Here is where the story gets good! This very week as I was on my way to meet a dear friend for coffee. I was trying to remember that song, but it had been so long since I heard it! At the time I couldn’t remember the title, lyrics or even the artist. Then I arrived at the place where I was to meet my friend only to realize we got our coffee houses mixed up. She was at a different location across town. So, I got back in my car to drive to where she was. Immediately it all came back, the song, the author, everything. I looked it up on iTunes and began to listen. Guess where I was when I heard the song again nineteen years later? I was driving back down County Road 707 completely unplanned!! I had come full circle! The Holy Spirit’s presence was so strong once again! I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry tears of joy! I did both, at the same time! It was a lovely mess!

Through that song and my encounter so many years ago, I knew God was teaching me about the seasons of life. Just like the seasons change outside, our personal lives have seasons too! I am sure many of you already know this life lesson. Yet, it can be one we take for granted at times! For me, the season has shifted once again!

What about you? Are you walking through a season like I described above? Don’t worry! It will change! Hold on! I know all too well some seasons are harder than others. Let’s walk through it together! Ok? Oh, and by the way, I did survive that painful season. Yes, some things did die only to create something more beautiful in time! Stay tuned…. I will share about that in a later post. With that I will close with a powerful verse from the song that describes this natural season of fall, “Even when the trees have just surrendered to the harvest time, forfeiting their leaves in late September and sending us inside. Still, I notice you when change begins, and I am braced for colder winds. I will offer thanks for what has been and what’s to come: You are autumn.” – Nicole Nordeman, “Every Season”

Friends, I want to know…..WHAT SEASON ARE YOU IN? What does it feel like? How would you describe it? Share with me in comments, and know this: no matter what season of life you are in God is with you, He is in every season!