We have many seasons in our lives. There are calendar seasons for spring, summer, winter and fall. There are seasons for natural man to grow from infant, teenager, adult and to senior citizen. And there are seasons in our relationship with God.
We start our seasons with God as babes in Christ. That's our "Getting to know Him" season. During this time, we are delicate like a baby still on milk. As we come to know Him and His love, we grow into the "I'm glad we met" season. We start trusting Him to love us and to invest in our well-being as His own. As we trust Him more, we embrace the "I can't live without Him" season. We KNOW His love, we KNOW His provisions and protection, and we choose Him to be ours until death. Somewhere along the journey we go through the "Why God Why?" season. We experience some hurt, some loss and some disappointments. Yes, our lives in Christ are filled with seasons.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, "For everything there is a season, a time for EVERY matter under heaven." (ESV.) Verses two through eight are a sacred list of the important seasons in our lives. Some are happy, some are sad, some are painful and some bring joy. But every season is necessary for us to learn, grow, experience and evolve as spiritual beings.
The flow of life is a process of change. We must learn to accept the process and flow with it, because we cannot stop life to get off and on like a carousel. We accept that nothing in life is the same for long. Life is “grow and go.” As soon as we grow to a higher level of spiritual consciousness, it is time to go to the next level. Celebrating spiritual growth is preferred over preparing, planning, and persistence, but we cannot enjoy growth without working for it. As we grow, transitional storms are necessary to clear the atmosphere of old ways of thinking that would stop us from fully experiencing the next season.
What season of life are you in? A season of want or plenty? A season of mourning or a season of birth? A season of getting to know Christ? Or a season of "Send me Lord, I'll go"? There is no right or wrong answer. No season lasts always. Seasons change, and some prefer the heat of summer while others desire the beauty winter brings. Every season is necessary and beneficial.
As our seasons change, the one thing that does NOT change is the God we serve. No matter what season we are in, He is a constant way-maker, a faithful promise keeper and a miracle worker. As you journey with Christ, He will protect you. So, press your way through each season, and share your umbrella with others during the rainy seasons. In the words of Psalmist Anika Evans, "It's necessary" to walk through every season!
Gladys A. Livé is Mississippi born and San Francisco raised. She is a wife of almost 23 years to Deacon Julio Livé, and is a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She is an employee of Kaiser Permanente for 25 years and is a faithful member of the New Providence Baptist Church in San Francisco where she has served for 37 years. She currently labors in the church Music Ministries, Women’s Ministries, on the Church and Pastor’s Anniversary Committees, and serves as a Deaconess and Financial Officer of the church under the leadership of Pastor Michael D. Gilmore. Gladys also serves as an Intercessor and Outreach Servant with the Daughters of Zion Women’s Ministry.