Seasons and Reasons

Reasons & Seasons…

I love the changing of the seasons, it reminds me that we have a creative God who believes that we need change and new views. Spring is one of my favorite seasons, because it shows new growth and all things coming to life. Spring also reminds me that life can be unpredictable, one moment things are sunny and calm and the next moment the storm clouds and rain are rolling in. 

Many times when we are faced with the changing of seasons, life can seem out of control and full of unknowns. I know all too well that widowhood is full of many changing seasons and that things are going to change no matter what you do or how hard you try to fight it. One day your life was full of sunshine and the next moment those thunderstorms and rain rolled in. You thought your life was going to look a certain way. You thought your future was fairly set and you knew who you would grow old with. The next moment you faced this new season without your person by your side. You probably questioned everything (like I did) and wondered how you would face this new season.

Through the changing of seasons, you experience new growth and new life. You are not stuck and no matter how hard it is, things do come to life again. You come to life again and you face a new life and a new day. I have spoken with so many widows who say that they have changed after the death of their husbands. They learned to do new things. They learned that they were stronger than they thought and they learned to do new things, talk to new people, enter new careers and step into a new calling God placed on their lives. Personally, I faced a lot of changes. I started a new business. I stepped into a new calling of helping other widows. I made new friends and I have shared my story in hopes of reaching others for Christ and His Kingdom. I started dating again and met my husband. I walked with my husband into ministry and continue to feel blessed by God.

I started this blog by saying I love the changing of seasons, but I think the more honest answer is I love watching other things change, but I don’t necessarily like walking through these changes in my own life. Change is hard. It is unpredictable and so scary, but I believe seasons bring about changes for many reasons. I am now closer to God and have a stronger relationship with Him than I ever had before the death of my husband. I learned to lean into Him and into those He put in my life. I may never (on this earth) understand all the reasons that I lost my husband. I may not truly understand heaven and what it looks like, but I know God has a plan and His reasons are bigger than my plans and ideas of what I thought my life would look like. 

I am coming up on the death date of my husband in just a couple of weeks. It is a hard season and it is still hard to understand all the reasons, but as I reflect back on the past six years, I’m reminded of the many seasons I’ve gone through and the changes that have taken place in my life. Most of them were extraordinarily hard and took some storms to allow them to happen, but all of them were necessary to help me become who God wanted me to be. I will close with this gentle reminder and words from a song that God has continued to place in my path the last couple of weeks. “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” O soul are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see. There’s light for a look at the Savior. And life more abundant and free. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim. In the light of his glory and grace. His word shall not fail you he promised. Believe him and all will be well. Then go to a world that is dying. His perfect salvation to tell.