Just as there are seasons of a year, there are seasons to your life. Have you ever heard this quote before:
Life is unpredictable, it changes with the seasons. Even your coldest winter, happens for the best of reasons. And though it feels eternal, like all you’ll ever do is freeze, I promise spring is coming; and with it, brand new leaves. -Erin Hanson
We all have bad seasons – bad seasons that feel like they’ll never end. Those cold winters that you swear just get colder by the day and the snow seems to thicken with every passing second. You can’t find a job even though you have a college degree. You’re single and you’ve been single for two years now and you think that no one will ever love you again. You seem to find out people’s real intentions with you and they’re never really that good. You’re sick or depressed or anxious about when this season of your life is going to end.
But, then it’s suddenly spring and it’s finally a good season. You get a job even though it’s not the job you’ve dreamed of. You start letting people back in and opening up to them and you actually start thinking about dating again. Your friends have had your back more than ever lately. Your outlook on life has suddenly turned positive and bright and you think, this is what that hard winter season was for.
Then, it’s the middle of the summer and the heat is hotter than it ever has been, you think. You’re really feeling yourself. Your job isn’t the best but it’s bringing in money for those summer nights of fun. You’ve been on a couple of fun adventures with your friends and made some good memories that will surely last you for the next few months. You’re interested in a guy and you’re thinking this might be the one I finally lend a chance to. You’re settled and you’re good for the summer.
Slowly but surely though, you start seeing certain things changing again – like the leaves that change color in the Fall. You start noticing that you don’t talk to some of your friends as much and you’re getting bored with your job. You find that your romantic relationships aren’t really turning into anything substantial and you’re wondering what the point of it all is anymore. You start to feel anxious because you don’t know what your next move is going to be and you’re just afraid that the cold winter is on the brink of returning.
And as the seasons in life have a way of coming back around, you’re back in the cold, cold winter season. You’ve quit your job and you’re not sure if that was the right or wrong decision; probably wrong for your wallet but right for your sanity. You’re single and you’re thinking this is going to be another year that you don’t have a boyfriend for the holidays. People seem to hide out in their homes and you spend little time with your friends and you wonder if they still remember you. You’re scared that you’re going to get depressed or that your anxiety will create a problem for you again and you just pray that this season will pass you by quickly.
And just when you think you’re at the end of your rope and that this season of your life is going to be the worst and never-ending … just like that, the flowers begin to bloom and the air becomes a little warmer and the sun seems to shine a little more often. It rains every now and then, but only for so long that you learn to truly appreciate the days of sunshine.
You see, each season of our life brings about good and bad. Each season brings us lessons to be learned and opportunities to be passed up or grasped onto with all our might. Each season is a test of sorts – sometimes we fail, but most of the time, we prevail. People, like the seasons, come and go. Some people are in your life to withstand the passing of the seasons and others are meant to drift just as easily as the seasons seem to do themselves.
With every new season, whether with your life or people, allow them to come and go as they will. You will surely see the people who are meant to be in your life and you will see that there are people who come into your life for a period to teach you some lesson that you needed to learn. If a job no longer grows you or challenges you, don’t be afraid to give it to the season and move along. If you don’t think the guy you’ve been dating is good for you, move into the next season by yourself and see how much more you grow.
Life passes us by so quickly and the seasons seem to change in the blink of an eye. Maybe this is your winter season … if it is, just remember, a new season is upon you. One where the sun will shine a little more and the air will be a little easier to breathe. If you’re in your spring and summer season now, don’t be concerned if and when the winter season makes its way into your life; you’ll feel the sun again and adventure is upon you.
