Seasons Change, Don't They?

We'd surely get bored and complain if seasons didn't change (or at least I know I would).  I was reminded recently by a new friend that our lives consist of different seasons. For the past several years, I've been in a season of slowing down and looking up. That season was one of the most amazing and blessed seasons of my life. I didn't really want it to end. 


But, just as Summer ceases and Fall begins, we have little control over the season in which God places us. It is also a blessing that I've moved into a new season. And, although I really miss my seminary travels, I'm so blessed to be putting my studies into action now. Charis Health Center has added Spiritual Care for their patients and the community one day per week.  This is a service that can assist patients as well as others in finding God in their present situation.  It isn't always easy to find God, and it is often more challenging when you're sick.  I'll never forget walking through my recovery and illness trying to find God in my day to day struggles. I had support in many ways but finding God's presence wasn't one of them. It is such a privilege to help others look and find God's activity in their own situation. I'm also continuing to teach and serve at Gallatin CARES Worship Center and meet with patients from the health clinic two days a week. I'm positively overwhelmed with these opportunities to be in ministry in these places and with people I love.  I often think I am there to serve others, but serving has had a huge impact on my own spiritual formation.

For those of you who have been following this journey a while, you know i began blogging after my stroke in 2005 to journey toward healing and wholeness. I love to write. Writing helps me process and heal. It also lets me share my heart. Since that time, I've gone from writing about physical therapy exercises to God's grand activity in my life and the lives around me. Recently, I was contacted by Abingdon Press regarding an opportunity to author their new Abingdon Women's blog. This opportunity excites me, humbles me and even scares me just a little bit! I'm interviewing Bible Study authors, posting about living in God's word, and connecting women to good solid opportunities for studying God's word as a spiritual discipline.

When I told a friend I was a little nervous, she looked at me and said, "good, I'd be worried about you if you weren't." I loved that reply and it has made me think!  Here is what I've learned; this new season may seem a little busier, it may have more demands, AND I may feel a greater opportunity to make mistakes, but God has called me to serve. God has walked me to this season of life and he is asking me to embrace what he puts before me. God wrote this story, he is still writing it. I could choose to bury myself in leaves and try to stay in one season. But, he is asking each of us to stand up and embrace what is to come. He is asking us to live into our stories.

What's this season like for you?   What's God calling you to be nervous about?