Find Your own Beauty and JOY this Season

There are many seasons of life, and many changes from season to season. We each have our own path to endure, with joys, challenges, surprises, and sorrows. Some of these seasons, we don’t understand. Life gives us a challenge too soon, before we are ready….but would we ever be ready for such a challenge?

God gives us beauty and love, sometimes more than we ever imagined. Then there is sorrow, more than we could have ever imagined. Sometimes this difficult season, comes during the beauty of the magical Christmas season. This is hard. This truly is a wonderful time of year, if you are able to enjoy what the season is truly about.

Each year, it is more of a challenge, to come from a place of peace, turn off the outside pressures and noise, and truly enjoy the season.

Enjoy the beauty. Talk about the reason. Really listen to the music. Actually enjoy those in your life. Take a breath and take it in.

This is even more of a struggle, if you are already in a tough season. For some reason, and this can be so hard to take in, but for some reason THIS is exactly where God believes you should be. This is where our true faith is tested. THIS is hard. It is easy to shout that God is good, when beauty, joy and pure wonder are upon us.

For our faith to get deeper, stronger, and even more authentic and real, is to keep believing, to still be grateful, and to still say God is so good during our challenging times. 

This can be hard. God knows this. He knows what we need. I believe He knows our faith needs to be deeper. I  believe there is something else that He believes we need. Maybe He thinks we are focusing on the wrong things. Maybe He believes we need to slow down. Maybe He believes we need to be reminded how blessed we are. I am not sure, but I know that He is there, I know that He loves us, I know that He won’t give us more than we can handle and I know that He will help us through….all the way through.

For all of this I do BELIEVE.

For this season, my prayers cover so many. So many are going through true challenges, hard times, loss, battles and seasons that are hard for any of us to understand. As beautiful as this season is, you never know what that person next to you is going through. Sometimes it is someone you know. So enjoy what you have, embrace your blessings, hug longer, love more, pray more and pause more.

My prayers also are thankful for so much. So much.

I am so thankful for my husband, for I know someone my age that lost theirs too soon this year.

I am so thankful for my kids health, for I know someone my age fighting for their young child’s health this year.

I am so thankful for being able to help my parents, for have too many friends that have lost theirs too soon.

I am so thankful for my health, for I know several friends fighting for their own health this year.

I am so thankful that I get to fight for rest, quiet time, and peace, because this means I have lots of people to love in my life.

It is easy to feel inadequate this time of year and feel that you aren’t doing enough, especially if you are already in a challenging season. I have many phone calls I have failed to make, and parties I have missed. There are gifts I didn’t get and cookies I didn’t make. Christmas cards didn’t go out, and there are friends I haven’t seen. I lay down at night knowing there is so much more I wish I could do. Many days I feel that there is more I have missed than I am doing. Anxiety tries to take over. Sometimes sadness and insecurities try to creep in. This is where I believe God knows this is where I am supposed to be. In order to live from a place of peace, rest and comfort, I have to let many things go….especially this time of year.

It is ok for you to let go of things as well. Don’t get caught up in what others are doing. You are in your place and that is exactly where you should be. It takes a lot of faith, to BE where you are and know that this is where you are supposed to BE. This is what faith is about. This is listening to God, praying for guidance and strength, and then actually listening and living as God feels we should, not as others do.

Live for Him, even when it is hard, especially when it is hard.

Let go of what is pulling you, and BE where you believe you should BE.

This season, if the beauty and wonder seem lost for you, take time to pause and rest. Stop resisting and get closer to Jesus, not farther. The more you question what God is doing, the closer you should get to him. He is what you need. He is what will bring you through. He is wanting more of you, not less of you. He will always be there, and he just wants you there with him.

Be there….with Him.