- It’s summer, but I absolutely love spring. I love to hear birds chirping, see trees budding, and take a big whiff of that fresh spring air. (And then investing in Claritin).
There’s always something so welcoming about this change of season in particular. Summer brings with it long days filled with sunshine, lightening bugs, frogs, and mowing lawns; fall, the changing leaves and crisp air; and winter, the sweetness that surrounds the holiday season, watching the snow out the windows and putting a big sweater on with my hot tea ( really coffee). And after we’ve all reached the ends of our rope with cold weather, short days, and cabin fever, spring comes in—breathing new life into the world, and doing the same to our souls.
It’s a fresh start. A new beginning. Even if you’re not big on change, this is a welcome one.
Do you ever feel that way about life? Like you’re stuck in winter, groundhogs day that never ends, and you’re just positive that there is no end to this season of your life in sight? There always seems to be something we’re reaching after; this ever-elusive next step in which we will be happy, fulfilled, and living to our full potential.
I cannot count the number of conversations I’ve had with God (albeit many are in my own heart and mind) in which I tell Him I’ll be better if He changes my circumstances……
If You make my friend more loveable, I’ll love them better. If You had made me more articulate and communicative I would serve more in my church. If You provide me with the funds to go on a missions trip, I would travel and tell people about You.
So, when our lives don’t change, we repeat the same cycles we’ve been stuck in for weeks, months, or even years. We bury ourselves under the covers, and continue to beg God for spring.
It’s hard to sit at the same desk day after day, going to meetings, riding the elevator with the same people.
It’s hard to make the same dinner for the third time this week because you don’t have an ounce of energy and all you want to do is have a moment of silence and a hot bath.
But just as Paul encouraged the early Corinthian church, following God doesn’t always mean a change of circumstance. In fact, Paul says, “Each person should remain with God in whatever situation he was called” (1 Corinthians 7:24).
Sometimes God is calling you to make a big change in your life; to move to a new city, quit your job, or end a toxic relationship. But other times the only door God opens is the one you’ve been walking through for years, and He’s asking You to trust that He’s keeping the others closed for a reason.
Sometimes you’re just being called to bloom where you’re planted.
And sometimes that’s harder than new doors, big changes, and fresh starts.
Maybe that looks like choosing to stay in a job where you’re a light in a dark place, even if it may seem easier to quit and work in a different environment.
It could mean finding opportunities to serve and share God’s love in your local community and church rather than waiting for special circumstances to arise.
So instead of begging God for better soil, more sunlight, or revolutionary fertilizer, let’s watch Him do amazing things by being faithful right where we are.
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