Welcome back to The Promises of God Podcast, Episode number 42. My name is Tracie Rollins, and I want to thank you so much for spending some time with me as we learn and take action on God’s promises in life. This months series is about changing seasons of life, and we’re working at it, the momentum devotional offered by Bible journaling ministries titled Seasons. You can learn more about Bible journaling with our free 10-day course at BibleJournalingMinistries.com. Today we’re exploring the purpose behind each season of our life. Our verse is Ecclesiastes 3:1, but I’m going to read the entire section to you. It says for everything.
There is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born in a time to die, a time to plant in a time to pluck up that which is planted, a time to kill and a time to heal. A time to break down in a time to build up, a time to weep, and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing a time to seek and a time to lose. A time to keep in a time to cast away, a time to tear and a time to sow. A time to keep silent and a time to speak. A time to love in a time to hate. A time for war in a time for peace. What season are you in What time are you in, For me, I’m in a season of missing and adjusting to kids. Starting to leave the house. Last month, my oldest son went off to college, and things are different here. They’ve changed my youngest boys busy with school, but I can see a noticeable difference in him as he learns to adapt to life without his brother. His brother, his bedroom is actually across the hall from him. I’ve asked him if he wants to move into his brother’s room, but he said no, he likes his room, so he’s going to stay in his room, but things are quieter in a family of three instead of a family on foreign.
I began to miss the days of the time when they were little, and those were days of playing in the park, playdates, endless football practice, first dance recitals, and parent-teacher conferences. I was exhausted, overworked, and busy to the point of passing out when my head hit the pillow every night, and that season is gone. It’s past. And even now, my youngest son rarely has a parent-teacher conference, and he certainly doesn’t want me stalking him at his dance practice at school. Going through these seasons is both thrilling and exhausting. They’re easy, and they’re hard. You’re filled with purpose and disappointment, full of joy and sadness, but the journey doesn’t stop because I will it to. I can’t freeze time. I can’t go back in time. I can’t pray for more time. I have to be in a season and take what God has for me while giving my best to those who surround me. I love the book of Ecclesiastes is because initially, actually when I first was reading the Bible, Ecclesiastes was a little depressing to me. It, it, I mean, I wrestled with a question that the teacher wrestles within the book of Ecclesiastes is with, you know, the meaningless meaning lists, the newness of life, essentially asked the question, how do you know life is meaningful amid the circumstances which nothing makes sense? Our life can sometimes make absolutely no sense, and we can wrestle with these questions, but the book itself, Ecclesiastes, he’s deconstructs all the ways we find meaning and purpose in life apart from God.
And so as you read that book If you take the time to read that book, I hope that you will see that deconstruction and that ultimately I find that the teacher focuses on you enjoying the season that you’re in and not worrying like you don’t have to worry about your prosperity. You don’t have to worry about your career moves. You don’t have to worry about all these things because they’re quote-unquote meaningless. Right. I think there are parts in the Ecclesiastes where you can; you can feel like, boy, they shouldn’t do anything. That’s just a, you know, it’s a, it’s a book where it’s like, you know, nothing that you do today will matter in years from now. It’s a little depressing, which is why it was a hard book for me to learn to love, but as I continued to read it more and more, I started to find places in there where it helps me with my journey.
If you remember our last few episodes, we were talking about living life and in our first episode of that Stair, that series we talked about, is your career killing you And for me, I am the type of person that just always wants to achieve. I get so much delight in, you know, checking the box or I’ll write down things on my planner to check them off. I love to achieve things, but that doesn’t matter. And I love that Ecclesias stage reminds me of the things that are important in life. It reminds me of that God is the most important, um, person in my life. That Jesus came here for my sins and he loves me unconditionally and that I should be here from my friends when they need my family and me. And that’s what’s important. To go outside and breathe the fresh air, to see the beautiful sun against my skin, to see the birds flying and listen to the sound as they chirp in the morning. I walked to see the kids playing in the street, to see the rain come down and feel it on my skin. All these wonderful things that God provides every day. I can be joyful. And today, even if the season I’m going through is missing the season I’m going through could be, you know, a little bit sad because I don’t have my oldest son with me right in my house anymore and I have to learn to live without him. And I know that doesn’t sound like a big deal if you don’t have kids. I know it sure doesn’t sound like a big deal. In fact, for some people, they’re joyful when their kids leave. But for me, my heart is broken, and I’m missing my and I am missing my son. So I will be joyful in this season. I will choose to be joyful in the season.
And reading the book of Ecclesiastes helps remind me that the time is short, right And there’s a time for everything. There’s a time to be born, and there’s a time to die. There’s a time for planting. There’s a time for harvesting. This is just a season of life. And if I can learn to adjust with it, if I can learn to seek his will in each moment of my life, Lord, will he be glorified or God be glorified in every action that I take today, Lord, that he would just be delighted in the way I, I go about my days and would the joy even in the seasons that aren’t like the most exciting seasons of my life. So if you’re in a season of missing or if you’re in a season of joy, that is amazing. If you’re in a season where maybe you’ve also had to say goodbye to your son or daughter as I go out and venture into the world, or perhaps you’ve said goodbye to someone recently who’ve passed, or maybe you’ve said hello to New People as you’ve started a new job, our seasons in life change and we need to be joyful in each and every one of them.
But remember that God always provides and we need to be joyful in the season that we’re in with the things that God has provided. So this week, take some time to write a journal about the season that you’re currently in. If you’re here today and you’re struggling with the season that you’re in, you might be wishing that it could be over them over. Maybe you are struggling with some health issues. Perhaps you’re struggling with finances, and you just wished the season could be over. Call on God, and he will come alongside you. You are not promised tomorrow and do not put this off. Romans 6:23 says, the wages of sin is death, but the free-gift of God is eternal life and Jesus our Lord. So turn to Him, confess your sins and follow his will in your life, and you will feel the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding. I want to thank you so much for tuning in today, and I’m excited to talk to you more about the different seasons. We’ll talk about the seasons of planting. We’ll talk about seasons of harvesting, all kinds of fun, fun discussions on seasons of life and working together as we transition in and out of different seasons of our life this month. So I’m looking forward to seeing you in the next episode of the Promises of God Podcast. I hope you have a very blessed day. Goodbye.
Episode 042: Adjusting to The Changing Seasons of Life
