Seasons

October 30, 2025

Seasons. We all agree they come and go quickly! As the colors have changed, leaves have fallen, and we move into the “holiday” season, I am led to ponder not only seasons of fall and winter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the seasons of life.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, “For everything there is a season and time for everything under heaven.”

I find myself in a new season of life as I prepare for retirement. And with this age, I have a beautiful view of past seasons in life. I can look back on God’s faithfulness that sustained me through each and every one.

The author of Ecclesiastes was King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived because he asked God for wisdom and God gave him “wisdom and very great insight and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore!” 1 Kings 4:29.

Solomon lists a number of times….to be born/die, plant/harvest, kill/heal, tear down/build, weep/laugh, mourn/dance…the list is lengthy! You can read it for yourself in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. But these times are all ordained by God and they have purpose! I think we all can relate to a few, if not many of the “times” or seasons of life. It is how we maneuver through the tough times and even happy times that can either draw us closer to God or harden our hearts towards Him.

Because all things come from God, we can trust that He will sustain us through them all.

I was encouraged recently as I visited with someone from the Cornerstone Homeschool group that meets at Friendship Church. We were chatting about how quickly the summers go by. And I mentioned that the season I am in, allows me time to slow down, reflect more and be flexible in my schedule for whatever God has for me to do. She shared how she had been on a women’s retreat over the weekend and felt God asking her to lay down her agenda for His. Even in the busiest times of life - whether raising a family, pursuing higher education, a demanding career, or ministries, seeking His will and bowing to it, bears the most fruit for His Kingdom. And that is what she was doing.

Laying down any preconceived ideas of what we want and listening to His voice.

Seasons of life ebb and flow and we may find ourselves in a season of sickness. My dear friend is battling a very aggressive cancer, the same cancer that her sister died from a few years ago. We spoke the other day on the phone, and I was humbled and encouraged by her faith and trust in God. At one point in our conversation, I had tears, and I apologized for them, feeling like I had to be strong for her. Instead, she said tears are good and cleansing! She admits there have been tears shed by her and her family, but since having radiation on her neck, her throat is very sore. Crying actually hurts her throat. She said God assured her that He has her and that there was no need to cry!

Several people from her church had a prayer service for her and even friends who do not pray or have faith, were there. Without skipping a beat, my friend said, “If my cancer brings others to Christ, then bring it on!” A time for sickness and a time to heal. She knows that God is able to completely heal her here on earth. But whether He does this side of heaven or heals her by giving her a new body in heaven, she trusts in His sovereignty. Cancer has brought a new level of dependence on God for my friend and her family.

He promises to never leave us or forsake us. That we can be assured of!

My husband, Brian and I have been in a difficult season….waiting for a prodigal son, who we long to hear from and see, to return. He not only walked away from Jesus, but from all of his family. I often describe this pain as open-ended grief. The last time we saw our son was on Mother’s Day 2020. Nothing can prepare a mother’s heart for this kind of pain. But God experiences this kind of pain when people He loves reject Him. He knows our sorrow.

As the months have turned into years waiting for his return, I have felt the sustaining love of my Heavenly Father. Our LifeGroup is doing a study for parents of prodigals, and it has brought much freedom and hope as I relinquish control to God. I know that I am not able to change this situation at all, but it will be the work of the Holy Spirit to draw our son back. Because God loves him so, I know He will be relentlessly going after our son like a shepherd after the lost sheep.

We pray daily for our son to return to Jesus and his family but until then, we trust in God’s goodness and sovereignty.  In the meantime, we are waiting with open arms to lavish our love on our son!

There is a blessing in being at an age to retire from life’s work, but you never retire from the work God has prepared for us to do. God has given me opportunities to pour into women ages of 17-88. I pray they will also see the blessings of the season they find themselves in and embrace it! Pressing into the Father’s side and allowing Him to use them for His glory and our good!

Whether you are in a season of being a youth, single adult, married and growing a family, caring for aging parents, in financial stress or abundance, or any number of seasons, be assured God is in it all with you! Inquire of the Lord how He wants to use you in the day to day. Just as Solomon asked for wisdom, God granted it!

He’ll guide you in each season to be a blessing to others and you’ll see Him work in powerful ways and sustain you through it all.

That makes EVERY season a reason to celebrate what God has done in and through your life!