What This Crazy Texas Weather Is Teaching Me About Seasons

Sitting pool side with warm rays of sunshine hitting my face is not something I get to do often. Doing that in February though is crazy unheard of. It's been an uncharacteristically hot winter. You could even say that we have skipped spring and beckoned summer to come play with us a little early this year. It's a bit ridiculous. A bit ridiculous yet still super cool. I'm loving reading outside in my backyard this time of year in spite of the crazy Texas weather.There's quite a downside though. I love fall and winter fashion. I enjoy fashion year round, but there's nothing like throwing on a vest and a scarf and heading outside to face the frigid temperatures. (Okay, in Texas frigid temperatures are like 60 degrees. Laugh all you want northerners. This Texas girl just can't handle it.)It's not just about the fashion though. Texas can't make up her beautiful little mind. Leaves on the ground or bluebonnets bursting through the ground. What has happened is that we've been switching from tshirts and shorts one day to a winter coat the next. It's a lot to handle and is causing severe problems. I just got back from running some errands in a long sleeve tshirt and a vest. It's February. That seems like a considerably warm outfit for this time of year. This is insane. I've been sweating for hours! Thank the good Lord that a/c still runs on 60 in most stores. (Actually, that could be changed too but for different reasons.)All of this back and forth between the seasons stopped and made me think about what we're missing out when we miss the seasons. I've been painfully aware of them over the past several days. God's even placed on my heart an overt awareness of the season my life and heart are in.I like to sum up seasons with a word to remember them by. (I'll be sharing my word on the blog for this year/season which happen to be the same soon.) If you're not sure what season you're in, it's okay. Ask God to show you what he's doing in you, what the key themes he's trying to get you to grasp right now are. You may just be surprised.

Be Aware of the Season You're In

I could have easily hit the weather app on my phone while I was brushing my teeth. I would have known a short sleeve tshirt would have been enough for running errands this morning. This seems so simple. Yet, how many of us don't check what season of our lives and we're in or where are hearts truly are? Right now I know I'm in a season of healing, a season of giving myself grace and a season of intentional growth. With this seasonal perspective, I know how to prioritize my time, what to say yes to and what to say no to, and how to equip myself for this current season.

Live Into The Season of Life You're In

Living into the season where you are living is the absolute hardest thing one can do. We long for the future. In the future, we'll be better, we'll eat healthier, be more fit, have our life perfectly balanced, a successful career, the happiest of happy homes, and all of our relationships will be satisfyingly perfect. We will have our quintessential version of a perfect us and a perfect life. That's just not true friends!It's so easy in the midst of a tough season to say that you just have to grit your teeth, hunker down and try your hardest to get through this season. You can certainly do that and I have definitely done that a time or two. It gets you through, but you miss so much of what is going on around you. I wish I could go back several seasons and start over. If I could go back in time to past seasons, I would focus on and learn the things that I am learning now. I could have learned some lessons in past seasons if I had stopped to truly realize what God was doing in that season and let Him fully do it.I'm in a weird season currently. I'm in a season that I long for to be over. I know that if it was over tomorrow, I would have missed it in so many ways - settling into a new marriage, discovering who I am sans my identity being tied up in what I do for a living, learning to give myself grace. I need this season. I need to lean in fully and be okay with what awaits me. Even when what is waiting for me turns out to be something scary.

Do Prepare For Future Seasons

Seasons change. It's a beautiful thing. It can be a scary thing though. Each season is meant for it's own purpose. If we live into that purpose while being aware and preparing for future seasons, I think we'll be better for it when we face that season with all of its unknowns.I know that I won't be in this season forever.One day, I'll return to a traditional job. Knowing that, I'm getting ready for that future transition now. I'm seeking opportunities I may be interested in when the timing is right. If my skills don't match up with something I'd potentially love to do, then it's time to see how I can acquire those skills. It's time to look at what has held me back in the past and how that can be changed for the future. The ground work I am laying now is in the small things. These things like learning to eat healthy seem small and maybe even too easy with a lot more time on my hands. When I go back to work though, I'll have new eating habits where I'll be okay leaving the entire box of donuts in the break room for other employees. I pray you're living into the lessons of this season friend,