Seasons -- Summer Is Coming

Summer is almost here! I think I hear the angels singing the Hallelujah chorus.

We pull out our flip-flops and get a pedicure. Of course the boys have grown out of their swim suits so it's off to the store. The pool toys are rotted from last year. The deck is covered in pollen. The sunscreen has separated into oil and whatever else is in sunscreen -- some kind of chalky substance? The rubber holding the goggles snaps as we try to put them on. 

It may be a lot of work to prepare for summer, but it's worth it -- lazy days spent playing at the pool or the beach, grilling out on a warm summer's night, eating Popsicles on the porch.

We prepare for all sorts of things. We prepare for vacations, natural disasters like hurricanes, the start of another school year, moving to a new home, starting a new job. I even read about people who created specially-designed homes that could withstand a zombie attack. (Seriously!)

We prepare for the mundane everyday details of life -- going to the grocery store to get the ingredients for a week of homemade dinners, laying out our clothes for the next day, practicing a presentation for work or school.

We prepare financially for the next season of life -- creating a college fund for our toddler and setting aside a part of our income for retirement. 

We may not understand our current circumstances. Our season of life may be full of hurt, pain, loss, troubles, and great challenges. That doesn't mean that God doesn't have a plan for this season of life.

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." James‬ ‭1‬:‭2-4‬ (NLT)

Let's be encouraged. God is using our current season of life to prepare us for the next. Let's see it for what it is: an opportunity to grow in our faith and endurance.