There are four seasons in a year; each season brings about its pros and cons. For the fall, you have crisp weather, fall leaves, apple picking and pumpkin patches. The Winter is cold, snow may fall but there is the Holiday Season and eggnog. Spring is flirty and warm; horrible for allergies, but great for the park. Summer hands you hot days, BBQs, picnics, the pool/beach, great, tans and much more. Point being depending upon the individual you are, each season may bring about a different purpose for you.
Over time, relationships/friendships, careers, directionality of life are ideally the same, yet in most cases, they too go through changes or may just be there for a period of time. One thing is clear, each season serves a purpose, just as each relationship should. However, things change, people change and so do circumstances. Some of these we can see coming, others may totally blind side us. Recently, I was having a powwow with my friends and we were just chewing over what this space in our life is all about. Some of us were very clear and others of us literally feel as though we are twisting in the wind or drifting into space with no direction. It's such a frightening experience to be at an adult stage in your life and realize that the outline in which you set or ideals you thought you had in place aren't in sync with what is actually transpiring.
Who is responsible for this lie that is being sold about the Do's and Dont's in life? You know the whole finish High School, go to College, travel, meet wonderful people, date, find love, get married, buy the dream house, have the kids etc. That is a brochure of bullshit if I have ever seen it! Not because those aren't great values to have, but because life just doesn't really work out just as we plan. We can chart the dream course and find ourselves in an entirely different direction than we saw ourselves years, months, hell even weeks prior to. Sometimes we justify this shift in direction to the decisions that we have made. True for every cause there is an effect, however, some experiences and interactions in life serve but just that one seasonal purpose. How many of us look at the people we are today and are surprised at who we have become in good ways and bad? How many of us have had people, jobs, living arrangements, friendships in our lives that we thought would be eternal bonds or planted roots and then look at where we stand today and realize that it's so drastically different from where it all started? I have friends, myself included, who went to college took out loans, to become this responsible adult and have a career that they loved and currently either DO NOT love that career path any longer or simply DO NOT even work in the field. Nothing can prepare you for the feeling of a failed plan, stalled plan, or a plan not yet fulfilled!
I very recently started going back to church...I realized that as I was getting older and as my life was changing I was becoming such a pessimist. Things that once had such great importance to me still did, just now in different ways. I realized that I needed to restore my faith; not just in a spiritual way, but mentally, physically and emotionally. As individuals, we may find ourselves in a season in our life where we are comparing our advancement alongside others and being discouraged...it's not your season! There are instances where we are going through things that cause great emotional, or financial stress and we question why? Why am I going through this? The thing of it is, your temporary anguish is intended to be a form of personal growth; it may not make sense in that very moment but in the season of it's purpose, it will! As the seasons of life change, so does it's purpose. There is some part of us that has to be prepared for the twists and turns and difficult moments in life. We need to realize that sometimes you have to be patient and wait for your season, but continuing to have a positive and healthy attitude in the mean time is key. Maintain the things, people and relationships that are of importance to you; also recognizing that doing so doesn't mean that it has to be at the expense of your happiness. Give back to the universe all that you want in your most desired season!
"A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there" they say. There are things we are afraid to pursue, experience, let go of, work harder for, or have confidence in simply because we are too comfortable. Try not to be afraid of stepping out of your comfort zone...try not to over think or over plan. The reality is GOD has a plan for you, and once you begin to have faith and follow said plan (no matter how difficult it may appear at the time) your blessings will follow. Staying in your space of comfort may stunt your growth and potentially hinder the fulfillment of your destiny. Let's be clear though, your blessings will follow once you put things in order. If we desire a certain outcome but aren't showing the potential to be deserving of it then that season will not arrive. Sometimes we think we are ready but we aren't! Therefore, God sometimes makes things uncomfortable for us in order to train and prepare us for our blessings and destiny. An analogy that the pastor gave in church was in reference to the subway; he stated that just like a bus, or a car a subway ALSO gets you to and from a location. It's only exception is that it is underground and not seen. We often times are so desperate to be in a season we are not ready for...just like the subway train emerging from underground with the need to be to ‘seen’. We are impatient and in turn, we lose faith that the subway trains will also come above ground at one point or another. Wait patiently and faithfully for your season, maximize its purpose and be great in it!