January always makes me a bit nostalgic. Looking back I can see how much has changed in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years and more ago.
For some things, I’m thankful for the change:
- I’m thankful I’m no longer that broken, lost, party girl of my early college days seeking for everything else to fill me but Jesus.
- I’m thankful my husband and I are past the major miscommunication issues of our early years being newly weds.
- I’m thankful I’m no longer in a season of feeling lost and void of purpose, wondering “why do I feel so empty?”
But then there are other seasons that weren’t necessarily bad. In fact, they were good in many ways!
- I enjoyed my season of being a dental hygienist for 7 years, teaching others about oral health and enjoying the benefits of a well-paying job.
- I enjoyed living in Southern California for many years–beach days, warm breezes, and so many activities available to do being in the big city.
- I enjoyed staying home with my kids for a season when my youngest was born, experiencing full-time motherhood to the fullest.
But what was good for a season doesn’t mean it will be good for this season. Or even right for the next season. This is something I’ve been learning. It’s something you need to know too.
This is the first year I’ve experienced a full blown winter in about 18 years. When I was younger, I lived in Paradise, CA (yes, where the wildfire was) and experienced decent seasonal changes. But then I moved away to college on the California coast, and subsequently to Southern California where winters are mild at worst. Seasonal changes were minor and hardly noticed.
This morning however, I woke up this morning to more frost on my car and a temperature gauge that read 16 degrees. I threw on two layers of clothes, plus my jacket, gloves and boots. If I was out in it for any length of time, I would have also grabbed my scarf and hat. A few weeks ago, we had a good layer of snow!
Nobody had to tell me that it was time to wear these clothes. You simply feel it, sense it. You can see that the weather is indeed showing signs that the cold is here to stay for a while. Therefore, t-shirts and shorts is no longer best for this season.
Do you feel something in your heart changing? Did you once have a deep love and passion for your job, but years later you’re feeling it no longer satisfies you in ways you thought it would? Did you stay at home with the kids for a year, only to now feel that pull in your heart to pursue the dreams God has been placing in your heart to pursue with Him?
Perhaps it still doesn’t seem to make sense to others, but to you, you’ve felt the change of season and are simply responding to the shifts you’re experiencing–external or internally? You initially loved where you lived, enjoyed fellowship and community there, but suddenly years later it no longer feels right. You ache for a slower paced life from the hustle of the city. Or you long for the energy of the city to bring your dreams to life compared to the rural country with less opportunity.
What was good for a season may not be good for this season, right?
For me, I felt the shift from my career as a dental hygienist to becoming a writer and communicator of faith. I felt the shift from stay-at-home mom to work-at-home mom and it’s the right fit for right now. I still love the city, but I also love the country life. But my husband, Jeff, was built for the country not city and it was worth it to do whatever we needed to do to bring his heart back into alignment by making this move.
But not too long ago, things were still good. Until it was it was, well, not so good. Our hearts shifted. Our desires changed. We sensed the change and responded by taking a leap of faith toward a new season that we felt God beckoning us to pursue with Him, here in rural Southern Idaho.
You need to know, you have options. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to explain the shift to anyone else, just like you don’t have to explain why you have to start wearing scarves, mittens and warm boots. Just make the shift you know you need to make. Take the next step with God to pursue whatever it is He is beckoning you to pursue with Him. There’s a reason you’re feeling the way you’re feeling. There is something else for you in this next season you may miss out on if you don’t take the initiative.
I feel lighter today in this new season of change than I have in the past few years. This shift was good for us. It’s where we are supposed to be.
Are you doing what you’re supposed to be doing right now, friend? Do you feel a shift coming? Don’t be afraid of it. Because with God by your side, you have nothing to fear.
