Embracing Your Season

It’s funny how when you are a kid you can’t wait to be a teenager. Once you are a teenager you can’t wait to be an adult. When you’re an adult, you look forward to making grown-up decisions which may include marriage, children, buying a home, starting businesses, and/or making more money. We get so consumed by moving to the next level that sometimes we don’t take the time to appreciate the time and place we’re in. We fail to realize that each moment builds on the next and each level prepares you for the next.

I’ve had quite a few conversations with our kids to enjoy the “now”. Of course, I remember being young and wanting to be grown without realizing how being a grown-up comes with responsibilities I don’t always want to carry. I’m trying to get the children to embrace today because once today is gone it’s gone, and we’re not getting it back. This is the time they have their parents taking care of them and paying all the bills. They can just ask, “What’s for dinner?”, without the responsibility of having to buy or prepare it. My kids don’t have to go to work everyday to pay the mortgage, utilities, and food. They actually can enjoy life without “life’s” pressure. I want them to embrace their season.

Having these discussions made me reminisce on earlier years and even the hardships. Early on in my marriage, we had financial difficulty, marriage issues, car issues… so many issues that are not our complaints today. Looking back, I also see what those difficult moments were teaching us. Through our financial hardships, we learned money management and financial literacy. During our marriage difficulties, we learned more about ourselves, forgiveness, and perseverance. Our marriage difficulty also taught us how to talk to God more and pick and choose our battles. When looking back all of those difficult times, they were seasons preparing us for our next.

As we close out 2021, we should reflect on what’s happened over the year and what the seasons of our lives have taught us. We should embrace our failures and celebrate our victories. Each season has prepared us for where we’re going in 2022. It’s not for us to predict the future but we should embrace today and the wisdoms that came with it. This pandemic has shown us that tomorrow isn’t promised. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” (Matthew 6:34).

It is my hope we can all embrace this holiday season and love on our loved ones, reflect on our blessings and be thankful in this moment.