Embracing the Season of Life You're In

When your eyes are fixed on the past or the future, it can be hard to embrace the season you're in right now. But the truth is God has placed you in this life stage, role, or position for a reason. I'll share some helpful thoughts here to guide you so that you can view your season in a fresh perspective.

May you find space here to pause, reflect, and abide.

At the end of this article is a free printable worksheet to prayerfully dive deeper.

Growth Track for Embracing the Season

The place where you find yourself is not random or coincidental. If we move from the conviction that there is some gold to be mined out right where you are, your current situation can be approached in a new way. Below are four points we'll visit along the way. Feel free to jump ahead to the one that stands out to you or join me as we wander through them slowly:

• You need to identify the season

• You need to surrender to the season

• You need to allow the season to change you

• You need to thank God for the season

You need to identify the season

Jentezen Franklin wrote a book called Acres of Diamonds. In it, he tells the story of a farmer who had a lot of land and lived a simple but contented life. All of that changed one day when the farmer heard about the value of diamonds. Leaving all he had behind, the farmer travelled far and wide in search of something bright and sparkly. He lost all his joy in life and eventually died a tragic death by suicide. 

On the other side of the world, where things were still simple and the people were content, the old farm had a new owner. One day, this man discovered a diamond in the very same place where the old farmer spent most of his life. When they searched deeper, they found more and more diamonds.

The old farmer was sitting on his dream all along, but he believed that happiness was to be found somewhere else, rather than mined out where he was.

A personal example:

My husband and I recently moved from the hustle and bustle of a city to a very remote wine farm (he's a winemaker). I say recently, but we've been here for two years at the time of writing, yet it still feels to fresh. Moving was everything we wanted - a slower lifestyle, more time together, space to breathe.

However, it has taken me very long to embrace the space I'm in. I grew up on a wine farm and had strong convictions about 'never marrying a farmer' & 'never living on a farm'. So when our search for slower led us not to the sea but to the Swartland, I felt confused.

I did not expect to struggle with this. I desired it for so long. Yet when I finally found myself in the situation, I did not know who I was anymore.

I have found that it is possible to find peace in incredibly difficult circumstances and even though your situation will differ from mine, there are certain seasons we can identify:

Autumn means it's time to let things go and slow down for hibernation. Winter might feel like you're in hiding, preparing, and waiting. Spring brings new beginnings, and the promise of fruit. Summer is time for the harvest, hard work, and long hours.

I was obviously in Autumn, having to let go of how I thought things would be. The past two years were Winter as we waited and felt fairly isolated at times.

I recently sat down with my acoustic guitar and a spontaneous song welled up from inside. I was surprised as the words tumbled from my lips and melodies filled the room:

"Now I've become all these things I always said I'd never be,

I'm a wife, I have some chickens, I tried sourdough baking...

So I'm back between the vineyards where I started my days

I came back to a place where I swore I'd never be,

what I thought I needed to escape.

But I'm learning about abiding

and You're speaking of the vine.

And I'm coming out of hiding

and it feels... simply divine?"

Reading these lyrics through this lens of Seasons of Life, it's obvious that I feel like I'm in Spring.

I've embraced the vineyard story and have come to see how God continually used the vineyard from my formative years as a metaphor for my life in Him. And so this site was also born in this season:

Vine Creative Studio holds a collection of what I like to call 'encounter tools', resources connecting hearts with Jesus. You're welcome to try one out with my free Workbook on Living as a Wholehearted Follower.

What season are you in? Autumn: let go, Winter: slow, Spring: grow, Summer: flow

Now, let's return to the practical way for you to embrace your own season where you find yourself.

You need to surrender to the season

Whatever phase of life, new position, unexpected role, or strange misfitting title you find yourself in; you're not going to get through it before you surrender to it.

The man who went out searching for diamonds everywhere else, did not realize he was sitting on acres of them right at home. As the saying goes, "The grass is greener where you water it".

You need to bloom where you are planted. I realized soon after moving here that meant I had to also STOP BLOOMING WHERE I'M NOT PLANTED, which led to some healthy detachment. You cannot keep standing with one foot in the past and expect to feel present where you are...

Questions for Reflection / Journaling Prompts:

1. What were your expectations about this season of life you're in prior to getting there? What did you think it would be like, feel like?

2. Did God give you any words, sermons, verses, songs, or people to hold onto in this season?

3. Are you in Fall, Winter, Spring, or Summer emotionally? How about spiritually, socially, financially, and vocationally?

4. Imagine if you were a tree, what would you look like in your current season of life?

5. What do you need from God right now?

If you feel like these questions helped you get some clarity, I want to invite you to consider the following workbook where I share practical tips, prompts, and examples from my own faith journals over ten years.

Faith Journaling Workbook

ZAR 90.00

Buy Now

You need to allow the season to change you

One day, when we first moved here, a truth dropped in my heart:

If your circumstances change but you resist changing with them, you might miss out on a lot of growth.

There's a famous saying that goes: "The things we do do something to us". What you spend your time doing are also forming you...

So, in my situation I had to become a certain kind of person in order to embrace my season. (Remember my chickens and sourdough from the song?)

The invitation is here for you to do the same. Don't conform to the sin patterns of your situation, but look for the good, look for God. What has His fingerprints all over it? What might He want to redeem and restore?

The thing of embracing life's seasons is much more than a wellness topic that just helps you cop with life. It is to stop pushing AGAINST where God has you and to say instead: "Ok Lord, I can see my situation is not changing anytime soon. Who do I need to become to navigate this with grace?"

Where you are -yes, even geographically- is not a coincidence. What if He placed you there?

The Bible makes it clear:

"From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands." - Acts 17:26

You need to thank God for the season

Psalm 16:6 says it well: "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance."

In conclusion, these phases of life that feel so hard to accept are only overcome one way: acceptance. Lean into the change and let it also change you. Let go of the parts of yourself that no longer fit. Ask God to give you vision and clarity for where He has you in this season.

In fact, let's do so together below:

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I trust that You have placed me where You want me in this season.

I surrender to the roles I am in and the location I find myself in.

I accept my titles and everything that has changed.

Would You give me peace and teach me how to be where I am, with both feet firmly planted in the NOW?

Guide me by Your Holy Spirit to see the diamonds where I am, instead of wishing I were somewhere else.

In this _______ Season where I find myself, what are You trying to teach me?

May I always continue to abide in the Vine, Amen.

Your Invitation to Go Deeper

If you feel like you've opened a can of worms, but not nearly processed enough, consider the following.

Go even deeper with this idea by using the free worksheet I made for you on this topic:

Seasons worksheet.pdf

Download PDF • 68KB

P.S. If you enjoyed this article and would like to stay in touch, I want to invite you to join my newsletter by leaving your email below.

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