Slow Life Seasons

This year, in our area of the country, fall has been slow in coming. The trees remained green long after other areas. Then, seemingly overnight, the leaves turned, providing a riot of reds, golds, and oranges among the green.

Sometimes, life seasons are slow to come or slow to leave. When you’re longing for a season that is less stressful or busy, it seems to take its time coming. Likewise, when you are in a challenging life season, the progression feels as if it inches along, creeping toward a season change at a tortoise pace. But just as seasonal changes occur in nature, so life seasons transition.

Following are thoughts on changing life seasons:

Look Beyond Right Now

I am in the process of cleaning out my grandparents’ house, the home where they, and two of my aunts, lived. My father built the house in 1966, so you can imagine the accumulation of treasures, and, well trash, the house contains.

At times, I grow weary, and feel as if I’ve only made a dent in the mammoth task. But I know, even though the process is slow, I will reach completion. I may not finish in the time frame I’ve allotted, but this season in my life will change and I will again regain forward motion in other areas of my life.

When you are navigating a slow life season, keep your eyes on the finish line, knowing your progress, although slow, has an end point.

Enjoy the Colors of the Season You’re In

Each season has its own beauty—the verdant hues of spring with burst of floral color, the lushness of summer, the vibrant multi-colors of fall, and the stark contrasts of black, white, and gray in winter.

Life seasons are also full of color. You may experience humor amid the hard, respite in nature during challenging days, or the comfort and familiarity of home when all around you is chaos. Look for and savor the colors of the season in which you find yourself.

Employ Patience

I felt I was making good progress with cleaning out my grandparents’ house, until I opened the door to the basement storage room! Years of accumulated “junk” inhabit the space, including items that should have been thrown away decades ago. I grabbed a box of big trash bags and dove in, but the more I worked the more frustrated, and yes, angry I became. “I don’t have time for this,” I whined. But then, I thought of my own house, and all that I haven’t dealt with there, and decided this was a good opportunity to strengthen my patience muscles.

Most of us don’t wait well and patience is a virtue that can always use cultivation. In a hurry-up world, a slow life season feels endless, nonproductive, frustrating, and annoying. Yet we learn in slow life seasons if we are open and receptive.

See the Broad View

It’s difficult not to view life in tiny segments, especially when you are involved in an intense phase, such as caregiving, or juggling too many obligations at once. We often see only the challenges instead of viewing from a wide-screen perspective.

In the total scheme of life, what is happening right now, this life season, is only a snippet of our life journey. We see only the previews, but God wrote the whole script. God knows our life stories from beginning to end and provides changing seasons to give us respite and rest for what lies ahead.

“Everything on earth has its own time and its own season” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 CEV)

©CandyArrington

Candy Arrington is a writer, blogger, speaker, and freelance editor. She often writes on tough topics with a focus on moving through, and beyond, difficult life circumstances. Candy has written hundreds of articles, stories, and devotionals published by numerous outlets including: Inspiration.org, Arisedaily.com, CBN.com, Healthgrades.com, Care.com, Focus on the Family, NextAvenue.org, CountryLiving.com, and Writer’s Digest. Candy’s books include Life on Pause: Learning to Wait Well (Bold Vision Books), When Your Aging Parent Needs Care (Harvest House), and AFTERSHOCK: Help, Hope, and Healing in the Wake of Suicide (B&H Publishing Group).

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