Changing Seasons and Crooked Paths

Someone reminded me some time ago that some people come into your life for a season. We've heard that before, right? In that moment, however, it was a timely reminder. I pulled myself together and quickly got out of the funk I had been wallowing in. My new-found perspective was to look back at the nice moments; chuckle again at the jokes; smile; nod; shake my head - all as I took away the good stuff and the good lessons learned.

Yes, I do believe that some people show up only for a while. If it were not so, we'd still be in touch with, or be friends with, everyone we'd ever met! So, they come and they go. They touch - and how! Some certainly make a deeper impression than others - good and bad. When you're experiencing the bad, it may seem like a lifetime. It just never ends! Or, so you think. More often than not, we do have the power to bring that season to an end; the power to change that season ourselves.  In some cases, it's not enough to say this or that will end soon. When it gets to hurting bad enough, you just have to do what you have to do.

True, there are cases in which we have little to no control over a situation. In such cases, we simply make the best of it, keep hope floating and keep working in the background, preparing for that opportunity that ushers a ready person into a new and glorious season.

When we're experiencing a good season, we want it to last and last. Truth is, a change from a good season doesn't necessarily mean that it's tilting toward bad. But, we might have it so good, we can hardly imagine it being better. A good season may change into a better season and, sometimes, it gets worse before it gets better. Sometimes. In those times, a little faith and a little patience go a long way.

So, a change for the better may mean someone coming into your life.  It may also mean someone leaving your life. It mightn't look like it, but, so it is. Hindsight is 20/20 and only then does it become clear that it was for your good. I've come to understand and accept that. (Hey, no loneliness feels as bad as being miserable hurts.) My hope in those cases is that I have touched their lives in positive ways. I've often prayed thanking God for the doors He opens and for the doors He closes. Years ago, I came upon a Bible verse - Isaiah 45:2, "I will go before thee, and  make the crooked places straight..." God does that for me. Even now, I am about to enter a new season - totally His design and favour!  On February 7 this year, for the first time, I "discovered" another in Ecclesiastes 7:13, "Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which He hath made crooked?"  And, although I'd often given thanks for the closed doors, the fact that He makes paths crooked intentionally, put so many things into perspective. He does that for me, too.


Claudia
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