Welcome to a New Season!

Hello Labor Day!

This day marks the official end of the summer season. The Pace family will remember this summer as…

…the year of NO FEAR in the pool!

…the first ever taste of s’mores.

…catching a bigger fish than G’pa.

…lazy afternoons of being together.

…welcoming a new little one to the family.

Yes, it’s been a good and memorable summer. What will the next season bring?

You only have to look at my front door to know the current calendar season. The decorative wreath displayed clearly communicates spring, summer, fall, or winter. Throughout the year, the seasons come and go with distinctive conditions of temperature and length of day. These God-ordained changes mark the movement of time in nature.

Seasons in a person’s life are not so easy to define or designate. Instead of a calendar or weather patterns, institutions, people, or circumstances can initiate a new season in your life. Institutions like the military may define a season when based on your husband’s age they issue the message, “The season of your service is over, thank you very much.”

Illness can bring an unexpected season for you and your family with a beginning and end that you cannot predict by the days on the calendar. Finances can introduce a new season, whether by an unexpected windfall to gain, or an unexpected downturn to loss. The birth of a baby, a child starting school, a child leaving for college–oh, yes this mama heart remembers each of these seasons.

Just as spring can seem to pass quickly and winter can seem to drag on forever, some seasons of life may feel rushed while other seasons wear out their welcome. We cannot control when they start or when they end, but we can rest assured that God can bring purpose to each season.

I’m facing a change of seasons in my own life. The conclusion of a HUGE project is in sight. The project has consumed me for well over a year, and I’m a bit nervous about what life will look like when FINAL is stamped upon the end product.

Depending on the circumstances, entering a new season can be intimidating. Rather than dreading a future season, I’m determined to live with purpose in every season to come. I pray with the Psalmist, “I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me” (Psalm 57:2).

Yes, I’m throwing out the welcome mat and looking forward to the days ahead! What about YOU?

Consider these questions when you navigate a new life season: