You know how there are different seasons in life? Times where it’s like life is perfect and happy and good and nothing goes wrong?
Then, all of a sudden, out of the blue, everything does go wrong? And you’re standing there, and all you can think is, What in the world happened? How did I not see this coming? Where were all the signs that I should have paid attention to?
But sometimes life isn’t logical. It doesn’t follow a script. It doesn’t have a premeditated plot. It just is. And it just happens. And there is no way to figure out what might happen next.
I’ll be completely honest with you, friend. Life was really great a few months ago. Fantastically, almost too-good-to-be-true kinda stuff. Then, all of a sudden, poof! Everything changed! Within a week, everything that was so good and lovely changed. I was am still a bit stressed, yet over the last few weeks, starting last weekend, I’ve had change of perspective.
Who knows why things happen.. God uses unexpected circumstances to grab our attention sometimes, He uses unorthodox situations to enable us to grow.
As I was scrolling through my Instagram feed the other day, an inspirational quote by @laraacasey grabbed my attention. She said, “Don’t just pray about what seems logical + possible. Pray HARD about the “impossible” –> God will show you that NOTHING nothing nothing nothing is impossible with Him. Ever. Period. End of story.”
Whoa, people. Seriously. Whoa.
It grabbed me. It shook me. We’re the daughters of the Almighty King of Kings. We’ve been taught to pray, “if you have need of anything, your Father in Heaven knows” – that kind of stuff. But really, where is the faith that we should possess in order to believe that when we do pray, He hears us? How often do we pray simply out of obligation or duty, because we know we should, because it’s habit, or whatever.
There are things in my life that I want to change! Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not speaking of sin or little piddly things. There are people in my life that I know need miracles. There are dreams I have that I believe are from God that I want to make happen. So, PRAY. Like Lara said, pray hard. Believe. Don’t settle for a wimpy little prayer that reeks of insincerity. Pray with everything you’ve got. Pray even when the answer comes back “no.” Pray when the storm gets darker every.single.time you get on your knees.
Because eventually, that storm will end. Storms don’t last forever. It will pass over. There will certainly be more in the future, but let this one challenge you and strengthen you. Let it help you grow, allow it to mature your spirituality and faith in God. And later on, when the next storm comes, you’ll look back and think, “Wow. If I never would have gone through that situation, there’s no way I’d be able to deal with this now.”
Life is a process, life is a journey.
Just like there is a pattern that creates the seasons in our world, there is pattern that creates seasons in our lives. Allow every season to mean something more than a simple name; let it resonate so deeply within you so that you can see the beauty even in the winter, even in the spring when your allergies are going crazy, in the summer when it’s so hot and you wish for a cool breeze, in the autumn, when all beauty seems to blow away with the wind. Think of what our world would be without seasons.. it would be monotonous, boring, bland. No change brings complacency, mediocrity. The change of seasons heightens awareness of our surroundings and what brings security and joy to our lives.
Embrace every moment, the bright colors, the muted tones, the blue skies, the grey thunder clouds. Emrace the hardships. Fall in love with the pattern of change – it will help you avoid being stagnant, it will encourage growth. And above all, pray. Pray about what seems impossible. Pray about what stresses you out. Pray about the broken heart, the shattered dreams, the storm that has your world rocking. But don’t forget that when you come out of the storm, the shining sun and beautiful white, fluffy clouds will be more beautiful than they ever were before.
[image courtesy of Hither & Thither]