Living in New Hampshire, I get to experience all four seasons. At the time of this writing, it is winter and snow is covering the ground. I struggle emotionally around this time of year as the temperatures are colder and the dark comes sooner. I accept that this is the cycle, but it doesn’t make it any easier for me. Nevertheless, I make adjustments for the season. I bundle up in hat and coat when I go outside, I make sure I have enough fuel in the house to keep it warm, and I try to keep the driveway as clear of ice and snow as I can. The concept of seasons transfers to different periods in my life.
I once had a season as a student in Chi Alpha, where I came to Christ and was discipled, forming a solid foundation in my life that I am building on to this day. Since then, I have been through other seasons, and I am currently in a season of work, church ministry, and other day to day activities that fill my life. It is the rhythm of life.
As I get older, I realize all the more that God ordains seasons in life, and that I need to be fully engaged in whatever season I am in. I am slowly learning not to hold on to things from previous seasons in order to be fully present in the current one, whether it be a relationship, a ministry, a life goal, or whatever else. Not doing so is the equivalent of wearing a winter coat in the heat of summer, or shorts and a t-shirt in the dead of winter.
My humanity often makes it hard for me to let things go, but maybe this is due partly to being unable to detect a change in seasons, or my unwillingness to accept the end of a season. However, the more I learn to let go of what I need to from the previous season, and the more I learn to not only adapt, but to embrace the current season I am in, the more I begin to appreciate where I am, and see the opportunities that are around me if I am able to notice them. What God is doing in someone else’s life is not always the same as what he is doing in mine. But rest assured, God is doing something new (Isaiah 43:19).
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:1: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” In light of the different, people, circumstances, and positions that life brings at the various time periods in lie, I am learning that it really is okay to let things from the past go. It is good to remember and learn from the past. But it is equally important to fully embrace the here and now, no matter the season.