deep thought for this monday morning, i know. for the audience that i think this blog has, the seasons of life are pretty obviously split up by school semesters. we attended high school, then graduated. then entered the best four years of our lives known as college. but as with every season, after four years (or five if you took a victory lap), college comes to an end and we look forward to what is next. bc y'all know i love lists, i wanted to give y'all what i have been learning the past few months about transitions and seasons.
six things i learned about seasons (the hard way):
1. transition is inevitable. you can try to change it or stop it from happening but you can't stop the seasons of life anymore than you could stop fall from turning into winter. it just happens. you didn't expect to stay a baby forever. you learned to walk and experienced new freedom that comes with that! no one stays in the middle school stage forever. thankfully, Jesus is the God of redemption and doesn't leave us there forever. we move on and grow and it's just the way it is.
2. it is okay and natural to move on and embrace a new stage of life. when i was a senior about to graduate high school, i hated the idea of moving on. all of my friends were thrilled to be leaving high school and moving on to college and i was completely fine never leaving my comfort zone. on graduation day, i walked across the stage, got my diploma, sat down in my seat, and started bawling. but going to college, i was determined to make the most of my college experience and just a few weeks after moving in, i couldn't imagine my life looking any different. God knew the plan for my life and knew i was supposed to be at AU. it just took my human nature time to catch up. it's okay to love where God has put you right now.
3. but it is also okay to mourn and reminisce about the passing of a season. transitions are rough. i wrote a little bit about my most recent transition in a past blog post (coming down off the mountain). since you can read that post for yourself, i won't rehash it but basically my whole life has been about transition. brief synopsis: at nine, i moved to china. at fifteen, i moved back to america and started high school (YIKES). at seventeen, i went to ecuador for the first time. at eighteen, i moved to college. at twenty, i became a camp counselor. and at twenty-one, i went to uganda for two months. whew. basically to say, in my life, i have worn many hats. just because you are moving on to the next thing God has for you does not mean you have to completely forget what you have come through. i couldn't forget my memories even if i tried. all those life experiences made me who i am today. so much of those experiences built on top of each other to prepare me for the next stage of life. i miss the times where life was easier and sometimes i remember the good times and bad times to remind myself what God taught me in that stage.
4. there are lessons you will learn in certain seasons that you couldn't have learned any other time. specifically for me, there were things that i had to learn the summer i was a camp counselor before i could have gone to uganda. if i had switched the two summers, i would not have been equipped for either experience. God specifically brings you to certain seasons so that you can learn things you would not have seen otherwise. all the lessons God teaches you in your life will bleed over into other seasons. learn them and carry them with you.
5. no matter how short or long a season is, it is still a part of your story and it is still important. the two months i spent in uganda are just as special to me as the five years i lived in china. the same could be said about the week i spent in ecuador and the four years i spent in college. quantity does not equal quality.
6. God is just as faithful in the transition as he is in the season. He is so unbelievably good to bring people and circumstances in your life to encourage you that this is the next season for you. and that the next season is right. leaving uganda and going back for my last year of college, as hard as that was to do, was right. and God has been so faithful to bring people to speak truth into my life. my graduation application is due a week from today. and as hard as it is to comprehend that next year i won't be back at anderson with my best friends, i know this is right. i was not made to stay in college forever. God has created a purpose for my life beyond these four years where i have made myself the most comfortable.
God promises to be with you through every stage. not only will He be there, but He knows ahead of time what will happen and is working to your best interest and the interest of His greater plan and ultimately His glory. i recently found a verse in deuteronomy that has spoken so much hope and comfort into my life.
"the Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw Him do before.." Deut 1:30
if you are stressing out about moving into the next stage of your life like i have been (shoutout to PT school applications), then take hold of that verse. God knows what you need more than you do. not only does He know what you need, he is an advocate for you. and He is fighting for you. we don't need to worry about if He is going to do this because we are already witnesses to His goodness. we have seen Him fight for us and make our paths straight before. "the Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right." (Psalm 84:11) what is right is to follow jesus and let Him take the wheel. (excuse the carrie underwood pun) man, didn't expect my monday morning musings to get that deep.
