Pure Refreshment 2.03 -> The Seasons of Life

23 February 2007

From my desk perched on the second floor of our residence, I can look out at the single tree in our front yard. At this moment, it stands elegantly despite having surrendered its leaves a few months ago. Soon it will be dressed in the colors of springtime, as large green leaves sprout from its numerous branches and will remain that way through the dry, hot summer months—when drops of rain are incredibly scarce. Then, as the temperatures begin to fall, the leaves will take on vivid hues of yellow, orange, red, and brown. Winter will then approach and send the leaves cascading to the ground, leaving just the tree, bereft of anything but the quiet gracefulness it currently exudes.

The four seasons of the year allow the tree to put on a constant display of the greatness of God in addition to a gentle reminder about life. Similarly, we experience periods of time in life (seasons) where God has the opportunity to exhibit his plans for us. An often-quoted verse in the book of Jeremiah reveals the heart of God regarding this topic. It says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'" (Jeremiah 29:11 [NIV]).

Certain seasons of life are easy to determine, such as our childhood, our teenage years, and our adult life. However, these broad classifications hide additional seasons where God shares distinctive lessons to us in a real and meaningful way. Sometimes we may not realize that we are going through a season while in the midst of it, but only later on. At other times, we understand clearly (even if we cannot articulate it to others) what God is doing. In those cases, we need to follow the instructions he is giving us despite what others think or say.

A quick look though the Bible offers numerous examples of its characters going through the seasons of life. I present two (and recommend taking a look at the others for yourself):

Esther was a young woman suddenly elevated to the role of queen at a precarious time in the history of Israel. When her cousin Mordecai learned of a plot to exterminate the Jews, he sent Esther a message: you've got to speak up and do something about this. If not, our people will die—and you as well. He concludes by saying, "Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for such a time as this" (Esther 4:14 [Message]). After this, Esther begins to act, knowing that her actions would ultimately decide the fate of her people. Happily, the plot was exposed and the offenders were dispatched of quickly.

In the case of the apostle Paul, he wasn't exactly the person you'd want to meet in public if you claimed Jesus as Forgiver and Leader—at first. In fact, the early seasons of his life found him harassing, persecuting, and making life miserable for the early followers (see Acts 8:3-4). He was heading to Damascus to continue his campaign against Jesus, when he was confronted by Jesus himself! As a result of this encounter, he became a follower himself and began "preaching the faith he once tried to destroy" (Galatians 1:23 [NIV]). Before he began to tell others about Jesus, he went away for a period of time to Arabia—likely to be prepared by God for the tasks he was going to be doing (see Galatians 1:15-17). I'm quite thankful that he experienced each of these seasons of life, as they helped to bring countless numbers of people to a firsthand relationship with Christ himself.

But what about today? What do the seasons of our lives look like? In my case, the seasons of my life have been quite memorable, sometimes for reasons I'm ashamed to admit.

There was the 'season of relationship' where I was so enamored with a particular individual at my college that I lost sight of God's plans for who my wife was supposed to be. It took an infamous Valentine's Day talk with a friend for God to help me realize my error (I never did date the girl). I still fought the relationship question for two more years—until the month before graduation. That night, I gave up and told God, "If I'm supposed to remain single, then you've got a reason for this. I don't understand, but I'm going to trust you on this one." One week later, I went on my first date ever—with the woman that would become my wife.

There was the 'season of disorder,' caused by a seemingly odd event—a 70,000 pound crane barreling into the side of my car just yards from the hotel I was going to stay at while on the way to grad school. For the next two years, very little seemed to go as I planned, with even less making logical sense. Sadly, this season ended with me not learning the lessons upon the conclusion of my time in Illinois. It was a year later, as I stood looking out at the skyline of San Francisco, that God helped me to understand what was going on and begin reforming my life into what he intended it to be.

Finally, there was the 'season of recovery,' due in part to living in an area where we simply could not make ends meet each month. In this case, God provided a way for us to move to a new town, where we could get rid of debt while starting to save for the future and our daughter. As a result, our family has grown closer together, while my wife and I have rediscovered the passions for serving others that God had for us all along. We're not sure what the future holds, but it's an indescribable difference between worrying about things and simply trusting that someone bigger than yourself has things under control.

I'm sure you've had similar experiences and seasons in your life. I pray that you would take time this week to think about the journey of life you've been on so far. What has God been trying to tell you? What have you learned (or are learning) as a result?

And wherever you are in the seasons of your life, may God refresh you, that you in turn may refresh others.

"We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God's purpose prevails."
--Proverbs 19:21 (Message)

"All happenings, great and small, are parables whereby God speaks. The art of life is to get the message."
--Malcolm Muggeridge

Pure Refreshment 2.02 -> Having A Ball

Recently my wife and I were cleaning the upstairs portion of our home. I sat in a chair organizing books and clearing off our desk while she worked in the walk-in closet. After a while, I took a break and went over to see if she needed any help. She was going through a box of various items when she pulled out a ball of yarn approximately the size of a grapefruit.

"What is this for?" I asked.

"Well, this was a project I did with the kids at church a few years ago to help them remember a verse from the Bible."

"Are you planning on keeping it?"

She thought about it a second. "Nah."

"Well, can I see if it works?"

"If you want."

I found an open spot on the floor, sat down, and began to untangle the ball of yarn. Quickly, I realized that it wasn't going to be as easy as I thought. Interspersed between the taped strips of paper with words on them were pieces of hard candy. After a few years of sitting in a box, the candy had not only become unsuitable for eating, but were stuck to other sections of yarn. This made the task of unraveling the ball even more difficult.

Ten minutes later, I was pretty frustrated and still had a good portion of the ball left. The color of yarn had changed, but the candies were still just as stubborn to remove. What's worse, I had no idea what the verse was supposed to be! At that point, I made the decision to abandon reading the verse and just unwind the yarn completely, using any methods necessary to get there. Thirty minutes after I started working with the ball of yarn, I reached the end and found a peppermint there—a 'reward' for my efforts, it seemed.

Nobody is immune to the onslaughts and struggles common to life, as much as we would like it to be otherwise. Sometimes there's not enough money to pay all the bills at the end of the month. Sometimes a member of the family gets sick with a cold and had to miss a few days of work or school. Sometimes the phone rings and there's unwelcome news on the other end of the line. The critical question involves what we do when these inevitable situations arise.

There are three central modes people use when they reach these sticky situations in life. One is to simply act as if nothing has happened. I don't particularly advocate this option, since it forms the beginnings of a personal ball of yarn. One situation leads to another, and the ball becomes larger and larger. What's more, the situations over time (like the candy) begin to stick together, both defining who we are and making the ball of yarn nearly impossible to untangle.

A second method is to deal with the issues (whether individually or in small groups) our way. For example, if we're contemplating a move to another town, making the decision based on human feelings alone or because we think that's what needs to be done. We might be correct in our assumptions, but there's a great likelihood that we'll make a mistake or two along the way. This also forms the beginnings of a ball of yarn in our lives. And just like ignoring the issues, if left for too long a time, the ball gets larger and more difficult to bring under control.

This leaves a third, more desirable, way.

We simply have to get God involved.

Since we are creatures that are fallible (prone to make mistakes), it should serve as no surprise that ignoring issues or trying to handle them our way will not work in the long run. David found that out when attempting to cover up his actions regarding a woman named Bathsheba (see 2 Samuel, chapters 11-12). Jonah ran away from his task and infamously was swallowed by a great fish (or whale; take your pick). The crew members of a ship bound for Phoenix were warned by Paul not to go, but did anyway and barely escaped with their lives (see Acts 27:9-44).

It's the reason why Jesus came on the scene—to bridge the gap between us and God due to our mistakes. In doing this, we have the ability to allow God to take an active role in making us more like he is—loving, joyful, caring, patient, kind, gentle, faithful, and self-controlled. In this, God begins to help us unravel the ball of yarn we have in our lives.

This is not to say that the process is an easy one. It might hurt a little. It might hurt a lot. But after a while, the ball of yarn is unraveled and life becomes different. We're changed for the better as a result, yet we must be willing to let God stay in the picture—not as a spectator, but an active participant in our lives. Otherwise, we risk falling into either the trap of ignorance or the trap of handling the unraveling process on our own.

So, what is the ball of yarn that's sitting in your life made up of? Are there situations that you're trying to handle under your own power? Are you ignoring the struggles of life, hoping they will go away yet knowing they won't? Do you really want to be free (see Galatians 5:13a)?

My prayer is that you would be real with God and allow him to begin the unraveling process in your life. And as the ball of yarn becomes smaller and smaller, may God refresh you, that you may in turn refresh others.

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor."
--Isaiah 61:1-2a (NIV); also quoted and declared by Jesus in Luke 4:16-20

"If it is God who has begun painting a picture of what could and should be on the canvas of your heart, over time you will begin to sense that not to follow through would be tantamount to an act of disobedience."
--Andy Stanley, Visioneering1

1 Stanley, Andy. Visioneering. Multnomah, Sisters OR: 25.