There’s nothing like a new season to motivate us to reset! As I’m writing this, spring has just begun. The last of the snow is melting up north and birds and butterflies are returning home from their winter migrations. Buds are budding. A new baseball season is starting with a clean slate and any team could win the next World Series.
Our lives have many seasons. What season are you in right now?
Spring You’re motivated and doing some “spring cleaning” in your home and in your life too! You’ve come through challenges and can see seeds sprouting and begin growing again. There’s new life, hope, and a fresh perspective. You’re energized to get outdoors more and feel the sunshine, remembering there’s more to life than being cooped up inside.
Summer You’re happy and enjoying the fruits of life. It’s time to take a break and spend time having more fun with friends and family – or getting out to meet new friends. You’re planning a vacation – or staycation – to just chillax or try new adventures, whether large or small.
Fall You’re content and savoring where you are. The simple things are meaningful and enough. You’re nesting and working with what you have as best you can, realizing things aren’t as important as love and relationships, a roof over your head, and being thankful for everything God has provided for you and yours.
Winter You’re struggling through a tough time. The days are challenging and it’s hard to keep going. You know spring comes after winter, but you’re tired. You need encouragement and help.
Seasons come and seasons go, don’t they? I know I’ve experienced them all and you probably have too. Each of them has useful insights to teach us about our life. But can we take the lessons of each one, combine them, and create a “new season” for ourselves? One that makes the whole year better? Let’s take a lesson from each one and see what we come up with.
Create a New “Combined Season” to Last All Year Long
First: what do you want to improve in your life? Right off the bat, we all have some habits to change. They can be related to our mental, physical, financial, and spiritual health. You already know what they are, so write down the things you know have to go to make room for better things to take their place. Seeing them on paper acknowledges them as the starting point you can return to and see how you are progressing – or drifting away from what you wanted to improve.
A good lesson from Spring: Keep it clean. Do the work to get rid of the dirt and unhealthy things in every area of your life all year long. Then you’ll have a place in your heart to connect with God and room to have healthy relationships. Pull up the weeds and plant new seeds that will grow strong, healthy additions to your life.
A good lesson from Summer: Take a break. If all you do is work, whether at your job or being excessively busy with commitments – even to good things – you’ll eventually burn out. Instead, take time to stop and smell the roses before they’re gone. Love more and enjoy the people in your life. Add some more! Eat healthy and get regular exercise. All year long, a healthy life also needs rest and recovery – and joy!
A good lesson from Fall: Be content. Life isn’t about stuff. None of us will take even a chia seed with us when we leave this life. All year long, think about what you spend your money on and why. If we get less and give more, we can help others. The world needs more of this, not plastic bins storing things we don’t need or even remember we bought. Choose to appreciate and be content with what the Good Lord has provided.
A good lesson from Winter: Give God the Shovel. It may seem like you don’t have the strength to dig out from under the snowbank you’re in – whether you caused it yourself or something happened that wasn’t in your control. But there’s good news! If you do your part and put your trust in Jesus as your Saviour and pray to ask Him to forgive your sins, He’ll do His part. His strength is measureless and so is His love for you. I don’t know how or what He will do in your life but He will take the shovel and clear a personal path for you that leads to Heaven and eternal healing. All year long, read your Bible, find other Christians, and attend a good Bible-teaching church. The snow won’t last. Spring is coming!
God loves us and has a purpose behind the lessons of our lives: to help us grow. One of my favorite verses is Galatians 6:9 (NIV):
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”.
RESET HIGHER: Every day won’t be perfect and that’s a fact. Bad habits can grow again like weeds to choke out the good things that are growing if we don’t pull them out. So all year long, let’s combine and use the lessons we learn to create our own “season” of love and peace and a harvest that lasts even beyond our lifetime.
