"....There is a Season, Turn, Turn, Turn"..... Who would have thought King Solomon and Judy Collins could collaborate to bring us such a beautiful musical offering. An unlikely pair for sure. One a free loving hippie, and the other, one of the wisest men to ever live. Yet they both were used to convey via their words and music, the inevitableness of "change".
And what a pleasant weather change we have had here is SC the last few weeks. Humid, sticky long days evolving into cool, dry, shorter days. Definitely a welcomed, longed for, and beneficial change! If time had permitted, I could have lived outside all this week. Simply beautiful. I look forward to Autumn every year!
But wait....I think the song and the words of Solomon speak of continual change, but not always easy or happy change. Dang it.
We all are familiar with such seasons of change. Beth Moore calls them "sifting seasons"; times and events in our lives where God is sifting us, separating the chaff from the wheat....with the intent of knowing what is left after the sifting is good, usable, and honoring to His Kingdom work.
I hate being sifted. It stinks. It hurts. And sometimes it seems unending. During such times I find myself saying...(out loud and often)...."Okay, Lord, could you please hurry with this sifting thing. Let me learn what I need to learn, and let's move on!" I am sure I amuse and annoy Him. What an impatient child I am.
We have had such a season for the last, well...almost 5 years, as I have watched my sweet hubby struggle through Mono and two back surgeries, and ongoing back issues. Until 5 years ago, he was healthy as horse. So this has been a big change for him as well as our family. We have been super- sifted. We must have had lots of chaff.....evidently the really heavy duty, durable kind. I think we should be mostly wheat by now....hopefully!
One thing I have concluded through it all, is that God uses every season. Even the dark, cold ones. Out of all the struggle, we have been reminded over and over again, how much God loves us. How He continues to take care of us. Minuscule details that only He could arrange to keep us encouraged when it feels like the sifter is scraping our backsides extra hard. We have learned to let go of some things and hold tightly to others. We have, without a doubt, felt the blessings of friends and family as they have prayed for us and walked through the muck with us, sometimes pulling us through the sludge when we were emotionally worn out and felt paralyzed to take another step.
So, in many ways, this sifting season, although quite painful, has taught us many valuable lessons. The most important being that no matter what the climate or circumstance, we are not alone, we are loved and He has a purpose for it......under heaven. ~Ecclesiastes 3:1
Keep Turnin'!
~Scarlett
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