Seasons of Life

Written by Barbara Alpert

Are you in a hard season today? Come talk to a mentor. 

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”(Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Imagine if you had the option to start your life off like a fairy tale, “Once upon a time”, and write your own “and they lived happily ever after”. Most likely, the sweet script you envision entails joy, love, money, and every good thing life offers. Who would include hardship, suffering, and loss into their fairy tale life? However, real life, as we know, includes a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. In Ecclesiastes 3 King Solomon notes all of the seasons of our lives:

[A] time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:2-8)

God has a purpose for all that takes place under heaven. We do not know why some have it easier than others or why bad things happen to good people; but according to God’s Word, there is a time and season for everything. How could you truly appreciate joy if you have not experienced sorrow? How could you laugh with all your heart if you had not wept?

God is with you no matter what season of life you are currently in. He is with you in the valley times just as He is with you during the mountaintop experiences. Be open, ready, and willing to go through the various seasons of life. Staying stuck in a period of life that should be over is unwise, especially if it is a time of suffering, loss, or sorrow. 

It breaks God’s heart when He sees you remain in a season of confrontation when He offers peace, or a season of mourning when He offers dancing. Refuse to linger and embrace the new season He offers. Dare to get up and move forward. Seasons come and seasons go, but with God, life continuosly blooms. 

You might never find your fairy tale, picture perfect life this side of heaven, but rest assured, you will reign with the Prince of Peace in eternity. When God makes everything new you can say, “and they lived happily ever after”. For the Word of God says, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of thins has passed away.”(Revelation 21:4) Until then we say, “Come, Prince Charming. Come, Lord Jesus.” Amen

Question: Are you able to see purpose through all events in life? How has God worked in your past?

http://powertochange.com/blogposts/2012/06/10/seasons-of-life/