Seasons Of Change

"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:" Ecclesiastes 3:1

And so begins the season of blogging. I can add it to the abundance of seasons my life has seen over the years.

You've probably heard it said many times. You know, you're talking to a friend, they share their heart and end by saying, "It's just a season I'm going through. " Or, "That was another season in my life." It's such a common saying, yet so profound in it's ability to help us classify the purpose and times of our lives. Ya see...I need that. Because when I look back at the myriad of changes in my life, especially since Christ saved me, it's mind boggling, and sometimes very confusing. Then I read Ecclesiastes 3:1..."To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven." As I go on to read the next 7 verses, each season written there, no matter how base or common they may seem to me, can come alive with purpose. I can take each one and apply them somewhere in my life. But this time, due to my current season, I got myself caught up on verse 5..."A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones...". Cast away stones? Gather stones? What could possibly be "stones" in my life? So, of course, I went to my very own bible answer man, my husband Chris. I said, "Honey, what do you think the stones in Ecclesiastes 3:5 are referring to?". His response was so simple. "Well Mary, back then they would have cleared the stones out of a field in order to prep it for planting. Or, they would have collected stones to build a house or a wall...that sort of thing." DING! Hold the phone?!! That's it! Why else would I have stumbled on the stones in verse 5? (No pun intended) This is the season I'm in right now. I'm feeling as though the land of my heart, my mind, and my very life, is being cleared...prepped in a sense for what's ahead. Now, this isn't easy in any way, shape, or form. In fact it's been rather painful. The changes that have been coming upon myself, and infiltrating the life of my family seem to be so many, and very quick in their succession. My reaction to these changes can tend to be emotional, or shall I say over reactive. But, if I can put this time into a "season", well then...seasons change, right? Even though God's job of removing stones from my life may seem labor intensive and down right tiring at times, it's such a good and perfect work. You see, as He's doing that I can be gathering stones to build upon...His grace, mercy, peace, patience, and His never ending love. Don't you think those can work as stones to gather? I don't know...works for me. I like that. God is good.

Oh wait, the verse goes on to say, "A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing." The "refrain from embracing" actually means to be far from it. Now, I believe this is referring to many different embraces, such as parents embracing their children, one brother embracing another, or friends embracing. But why would we ever stop embracing? Can't we just love one another? Can't we all just get along? All ya need is love, right? Yet it is true, that there are some seasons that are so heartbreaking, so tearing between people, that the embracing needs to stop. Well, maybe not stop....it's just far from us. Man! I really don't like that one. It causes me to realize something. If I'm living for myself...giving into my flesh and my pride. I'm not spending time with the Lord like I should, and He's not the priority in my life, of course I'm going to feel far from Him. It's not that He's left me, it's that His embrace is far from me. Well, I think that would be for my own good. When we stop our wanderings and turn back to Him, guess what? He's standing there, arms open wide...big hug.

So, as I said in the beginning, this is a season of blogging. I love to write, or you may call it babbling if you like. My prayer is that this blog would be a blessing to our Calvary Chapel Healdsburg women's ministry, and anyone else who feels so inclined to read.

Blessings to you all in the Name of our Lord Jesus