Seasons (Revisited)

A few months ago, I wrote the following:

Because God has made everything beautiful for its own time, this season is beautiful for what it is... He has commanded the seasons to be and to change, and to rush through one season would threaten the health and diminish the beauty of the next. It is all part of God’s amazing creativity and unfathomable intelligence.

My resolution was strong in the fall; it had all but disappeared in the dreariness of winter. Since the ball dropped and five changed to six on the calendar, I had felt lost searching for purpose and direction. I had no idea what this new year and new season had in store. As January wore on, I got stuck believing that there was no particular purpose, nothing new, nothing fresh, nothing moving.

Then I went to church at Destiny in Atlanta last Wednesday night. The pastor preached about Elisha's prayer that his servant's eyes would be opened to what God was doing around him. Then the praise team sang a song that moved many in the congregation: "Walk into your season." I didn't move. I refused to be moved. Surely, this is not my season. It is dark and dreary and I am standing still. This is not my season.

But they kept singing, over and over and over. Walk into your season. Walk into your season. Finally, I stopped focusing on the last two words and started thinking about the first: walk. Move. Go forward. I didn't know what I was walking into -- I couldn't see the road ahead of me, yet I joined the rest of the congregation and I walked. I walked into this season.

Now as I walk through this season, which remains more dark and dreary than bright and beautiful, I need courage for each step. I pray for that courage, and pray that as I walk, God would open my eyes to what he is doing. I pray that he would help me see that this restless winter is beautiful for what it is.