Only For a Season

I remember not long ago (and not long before that, and before that time, too) that my survival was held together by the blessing of paper plates, generous people dropping off meals, and my husband cleaning up after dinner while I camped out in the rocking chair.

 

I remember what feels like long ago (but really wasn't that long!) when my house was spotless and I always had freshly pedicured toes.  When the clothes went straight from the dryer folded into the basket as I pulled them out. I remember spending hours during the summer months after my first year of teaching listening to sermons, journaling, and praying. 

 

There is a season for everything...some seasons are cyclical and some never return. I don't think my house will ever be spotless again, but I do hope that God's will would be to give us another child by any means He sees fit and force us to live off paper plates again.

 

For now, I'm finally able to use those paper plates for crafts with my kids again.

And for now, there sits a large pile of my husband's dress shirts on our bedroom floor that need to be ironed.

 

These were the thoughts I was having while I was making three meals at one time yesterday. Butternut squash in the crockpot, prepping shephard's pie for dinner (from scratch for the first time!) and prepping a freezer meal for another day.

 

My little helper:)

I surely don't say all this to boast.  I say all this as a reflection and encouragement for those hard seasons.  Right now, I am able to arrange my time at home and use my time to bless my husband, children, and others outside my home.  There are seasons of life though, that the body of Christ will be a blessing to us and minister to us when we are in need.  Both are such a time of blessing and rejoicing. 

It is easy to get down and feel dehydrated at times--even at times of great joy, like welcoming a new baby.  Time in the Word is hard to make, quiet time is rare, and it is just plain hard to keep our eyes open at times when we are surviving on sporadic hours of sleep. Our hearts pay the price. God is good all the time and in every season there is a reason to praise Him.

Survive.  Because sometimes that is the season.  But it's only for a season.  Then things will shift.  Recognize when that shift happens and allow it, embrace it, and thrive.  Recognize there are hard seasons, but be ready and willing to move out of them. And in every season, pray The Lord would restore to the joy of our salvation. 

I hope you are keeping your head above water.  I don't know your season.  But remember, it is only for a season.  And I know that I will look back and miss those seasons of barely keeping my head above water.  Even in the seasons of 'easier' living now when I have a toddler who can dress herself and fill her own cup of water, there is still so much pouring out of our lives that we do even as our children gain independence. There are still times I feel like I'm sinking (that's why it was nice to feel productive in the kitchen). I think in every season we can find little areas where we are just surviving but also where we are thriving.  I speak to myself the most when I say "Don't wish that away."  It may be winter, but summer will come. 

And our God is The God of every season. 

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven" 

Ecclesiastes 3:1

"So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?" 

Ecclesiastes 3:22