Something New!

As I have reflected on this past year and thought about the new year, I have found myself excited! Mike and I are expecting to have a great year! Do I think it will be without trials? Absolutely not! But no matter what we face we know we will face it together and most importantly with God! We have joy which will carry us through all circumstances. Not happiness, but joy. Joy is the all-knowing that God is with us and in control!

I am also excited because I believe we have seasons in our lives. Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8,

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."

As I reflect on this scripture I can see so many seasons we went through in 2018. I feel we have seen the "tear down", "weeping", "scattered stones", "a time to refrain from embracing", "a time to throw away", "a time to tear" and probably more if I sat here longer. But that is ok because that is not how the whole scripture reads. It says: a time to tear down AND a time to build, a time to weep AND a time to laugh, a time to scatter stones AND a time to gather them, a time to embrace AND a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search AND a time to give up, a time to keep AND a time to throw away and a time to tear AND a time to mend. That means I can look forward to building, laughing, gathering, embracing and mending!

When I look at the individual circumstances I can see how God inserted just what we needed when we needed it. However, I do not believe we will see those things in the midst of the trials if we are not focusing on God and His many blessings on our lives. When we are going through the tough times we are growing. The changes of seasons make us change our priorities. We find ourselves letting go of some things and picking up other priorities. God will teach us something from all of the seasons.

Our focus on life changes when we see that good comes from the different seasons. When we trust God during these times we do not have to worry about what is coming next. We focus on trusting Him and knowing that He is with us. If we continue reading the scripture verse above we know that "He will make everything beautiful in its time." Ecclesiastes 3: 11.