3 Ways to Enjoy The Season You’re In

I once walked into a store in January, and they had new swimsuits on display. It was 35 degrees outside. I realize businesses try to get a jump on the next buying season, but just looking at them made me pull my sweater a little closer.

3 Ways to Enjoy the Season You’re In

I love holidays and changing seasons, but I’m learning to enjoy the season I am in instead of always anticipating what’s next.

Have you ever noticed when it’s freezing cold in winter, we all long for spring to come? As soon as a rainy, windy spring comes, we’re ready for summer vacation. When summer arrives, along with the heat and humidity, we’re begging for fall. And of course, fall is short-lived with Christmas right around the corner.

I used to always focus on what I didn’t like about a particular season–snakes, bugs, and humidity in summer; cold, gray skies, and bare trees in winter. Then one day it occurred to me that I should think about all the things I love about each particular season–flip-flops, blue skies, and green trees in summer; sweaters, fireplaces, and college basketball in winter. 🙂

Right now, I want to enjoy summer down to the last drop. I’m not longing for sweaters and pumpkin spice just yet. I still want to wear shorts and flip flops and eat ice cream. I’ll enjoy fall when the time comes, but can I just revel in two more weeks of summer? I want to feel the heat, gaze at the blue skies, the green that’s still on the trees, and the hummingbirds darting from flower to flower.

There is a purpose in every season.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV

Our lives are like seasons. We have the spring of new life and youth, the summer of fruitfulness and productivity, the fall of harvest and fulfillment, and the winter of our golden years. But much like the seasons of the year, we are often impatient for what is to come.

I’m sure you’ve heard the acronym FOMO (fear of missing out). I think that’s what leads to our impatience with our seasons. We’re quickly bored and eager for what’s next because we might miss out on something if we don’t get there first.

But I’m learning that no fruit comes forth except in its season.

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season.”

Psalm 1:3

This past year, Kenneth and I have become empty nesters. I have retired from teaching after twenty-two years to focus on writing. It has definitely been a strange time in my life–way outside my comfort zone. But I’m learning to enjoy even the transition time. Kenneth and I get to enjoy more time alone, and it has been sweet.

God is saying to me, “Just be faithful in the season you are in. Be content where you are. Trust me in every season of life to lead you and use you where you are.”

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction.”

2 Timothy 4:2

How about you? How do you handle seasons of life? Are you always longing for the next thing, or are you content to enjoy the season you are in?

3 Keys to Enjoying THIS Season:

1. Be faithful where you are.
   

   “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).

2. Be attentive to the lessons He’s teaching.
   

   “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” (Hebrews 2:1).

3. Be tuned in to the people around you.
   

   “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4).

Just be present in every moment. You are in this season for a reason. Let God do what He wants in you.

The sooner we settle into the season we are in and lean into the Lord for contentmet, the sooner He will bring us to the next level.

So for now, I’m at peace in my season. God’s got great things to come, but my focus is on here and now. I can call my kids and “mama” them from a distance. I can snuggle with my man and enjoy being at his side. I can look for needs around me to fill and prayers to be prayed.

And I can rest secure in the truth that I won’t miss out on anything God has in store for me. If I am faithful in little, He will trust me with much. And that’s a season worth waiting for.

The best way to enjoy each season is to make time with the Lord your priority. Get my best-selling book, Seek Him First: How to Hear from God, Walk in His Will, and Change Your World.

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