Seasons of Life

“All of my life, in every season you are still God. I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship. I will bring praise, I will bring praise. No weapon formed against me shall remain. I will rejoice and I will declare God is my victory and He is here.”

-Desert Song

I wonder which one is your favourite season of the year? I can imagine you were thinking about the beautiful white sandy beach right now as you are reading this… so I guess your favourite is summer season?! And if you are a nature-lover just like me, you would say that Springtime is your favourite? I love going to the beach during summertime, watching my girls splash and play in the water while I go for a walk on the shoreline. I also love seeing the beautiful and colourful flowers in the fields during springtime. Such a lovely sight… they just make my heart sing! And who can resist the wonderful colours of an autumn days as the leaves turn brown and bright orange- imitating the golden sunset. And among all those four seasons, my favourite is wintertime! I really like the cold weather and all the ideas of snows and snowflakes, just like a winter wonderland!

Our life is no different with all its seasons. Life here on earth is constantly changing. We go through all the different phases and stages of life, yet we learn to adapt in whatever seasons we are at. Life can be full of joy and excitement! There are days that you wish would never end. I remember the day I walked down the aisle alongside my mum and dad, as Leander waited nervously (and excited of course) at the altar on our wedding. The day I held our firstborn child -Thea..my heart was so full of joy I couldn’t contain it. Then God has blessed us with two more beautiful girls- Lorelaine and Liana. They really are our precious gifts from God. Then I learned how to drive, very exciting!!! Then we bought our first home. God is so gracious to us and we are very grateful for all the blessings! This season of our life is just like Summer, full of great adventures and happy moments!

When we’re experiencing abundant blessings and we’re able to practice and become generous in everything we do, we can tell that our life is in a Spring season. Everything is prosperous, bountiful, plenty and beautiful! But life isn’t just about rainbows and sunshine. There are times where we encounter hardships and trials too. No matter how beautiful and glorious a big tree can be, its leaves will all soon wither and lose their colour and eventually they will dry up and fall onto the ground. These are the moments in your life when you feel isolated, rejected, feeling abandoned and left alone. Sadness that can overtake your emotions and steal away your joy and peace. And now you are entering the Winter Season of your life… dark, gloomy, quiet and very cold!

At the end of 2018, my family had the opportunity to travel and visit our loved ones in Sydney. We spent Christmas, New Year, and the rest of the school holidays over East. It was such a great family holiday as we got to see and explore so many places and make good memories. But then on January 21, 2019-just 2 days after I celebrated my birthday, I received a phone call and heard the most devastating news of my life… the passing of my dad. It was 5 o’clock in the morning at the peak of summer days, yet it felt like I had been dragged back into winter! My whole body was frozen, and my heart sank to the deepest, coldest, and darkest cave you can ever imagined. All the fun memories that my family just experienced from the last few weeks of our holiday vanished in just a second. I couldn’t remember a thing; all I could see is grey clouds around me. Everything felt empty! I mentioned earlier that wintertime is my favourite season… and yes it still is! But what I experienced during those days was extremely cold in every way! I felt overwhelmed with grief, pain, with heartaches and sadness.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months… time kept flying by and trust me, I prayed, and I prayed while I cried my heart out to God. I don’t want to be in that place anymore, I don’t want to feel that way again. That cold winter season of my life stayed longer than I wanted it to …

But God is gracious! He heard my cry and listened to my every prayer. He patiently waited for me to go back into His presence. One day I woke up and realised that it needed to stop! I needed to move on, and I shouldn’t allow myself to stay in that season. I looked at my husband, and I looked at my children… it’s not fair for my family that I am not giving them the best of me! I looked outside the window and saw rays of sunshine. I started declaring: “I am alive!”, “I am blessed!”, “I am so loved!” Those words kept echoing in my head. Tears were flooding my face, yet I was smiling. It was if those tears washed away all my pain and grief. I cannot explain how I felt at that moment… all I know is that God is good to me. His love pulled me out of my despair, and I can sing again, I can raise my hands up to heaven in praise again. My dad will stay in my heart forever and I know now that he is happier in the presence of our Heavenly Father. My dad has done his part, but I’m not done yet. God is not done with me yet. He still has a plan for me. Plans to prosper me and not to harm me. Plans to give me a future and a hope! – Jeremiah 29:11. I still have a purpose and that is to honour Him and give Him the Glory. To declare his goodness and to share his love to others.

We all need to go through different seasons of our life, and this you can be sure of- No matter what season you are in at the moment, God is always with you. God is always watching over you. God is always loving, protecting, and sustaining you. Just hold his words of promises close to your heart and you will never be lost in the dark again… even when you go through the coldest winter season of your life!

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time”.

– Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 11a

In your happy and bright Summer season – Do not forget your creator! Always rejoice and praise Him! Dance with joy while you can! Testify his goodness! Declare his faithfulness! Serve him with all your strength!

When everything is going well with you during your Spring season – Sing! Worship! Be glad! Give Glory to His name! Extend your hands and be a blessing to others! Love your neighbours and reach out to those who are in need!

Even if it feels like everything is falling apart and nothing seems to be working during your life’s Autumn Season – Fix your eyes on God! Surrender your heart to Him! Cast all your cares upon Him! Trust Him! Rely on His Grace and Mercy! And see how you come out victorious every single time!

And in your coldest Winter season, always remember that this is only temporary, and it will be over soon. Allow God to work through your life and witness how you can come out victorious every single time! All thanks to our loving Father, our Saviour, Creator and Friend!

My Prayer:
Thank you Jesus for all the seasons of my life! Thank you because you are always faithful no matter what happens, and you will never ever change! I put my trust in you alone. I hope and pray that this will bring encouragement to those who read it. And may they find your grace and power working in their lives no matter what season they maybe in right now. All glory belongs to you, in Jesus Name, Amen!

L