A few years ago I heard a message on the seasons of life that profoundly challenged and stretched me. It shared how each one has purpose and much goes on below the surface that's unseen to our human eyes. Seasons are planned, purposed and exactly measured for whats necessary to support and strengthen for the season that is coming next. They are not too short or too long, but just the right amount of time to perfect the condition needed for survival in the next season.
Winter is the season where I feel God has me currently nuzzled. Frequently I find myself feeling cold, bleak, and dry from the weather conditions swirling around my life. But I stand firm, just like the oak, storing necessary nutrients for the those future appointments to be used up for His glory. There have been days where I find myself crying out to God with questions of why the struggle has to sting so badly. I watch my oldest seek to find one solid friend pushing through his social inadequacies. My middle son weeding through his frustrations to find where he fits, and my daughter learning a its not about how much we know but what we do with what we know, that truly matters.
Somedays it feels as if time stands still. Like this season will never end. But it will. One day the Seawell Family will be in a new season, where we are the "friend" that another needs. We will find our place and speak truth over others reminding them who they are in Jesus. We are being strengthened now, by who Christ says we are, which will catapult us into being a vessel for others with truths learned. Daily I find myself needing to speak words of encouragement over their weary hearts. Pressing through the exhaustion, I daily must allow His word to pour into me so I can overflow into them. HE is working. On them. On me. It's deeper than the surface.
There is purpose. It goes beyond us. It is what HE wants to do in and through us if we will stand firm, allow His truth to nourish, and continue through those uncomfortable conditions that try to break us but ultimately make us stronger in Him. To the onlooker it may not look like much is going on, but there is a preparing in my heart for what I know HE has.
I trust in His sovereignty even if I don't totally fully grasp what He is doing. I can trust that He is God and I am not. Stand firm. Stand tall. Your next season is coming soon.
This is the sound of surviving...take a listen....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaOExJJa_YA
