seasons

it's that time of year again, friends.

time to break out some of my wool favorites that swaddle us in their warmth and goodness. 

my husband has laid claim to that plaid beauty on the right.

{it is sooo warm}.

do you look forward to the seasons changing as much as i do?

i am so thankful for God's design of change.

although i enjoy some seasons more than others, i always look forward to the next and the beauty that it offers.

i love how each season is designed as a pathway to the next. 

they are all necessary for life to thrive.

if we didn't have winter and the bleak dreary days,

we would not be able to enjoy the hope of spring buds and new life that is around the corner.

God has been so good to gently ease us into each new season and all the glories that encompass them.

this makes me think of the different seasons in our lives.

while the weather seasons are gradual and we know they are coming, sometimes we are forced into seasons of our life that we are not prepared for, that we do not understand, and that seem very harsh and uncomfortable.

no one likes to be out of their comfort zone, right?

we, as a family, have found ourselves in some very deep, unexpected valleys.

times where everything seemed  harsh and bitterly cold.

the sun seemed to only peek from behind the clouds, taunting us with the potential of it's warmth.

like in the dormancy of winter,  there seemed to be no sign of spring.

looking back, we can see clearly that God was using this time to draw us back to Him.

we were not alone.
through the valley, He had lessons that He wanted to teach us.

He was waiting for our obedience and love to be redirected back to Him.

He used those times of hibernation to refine us and grow our faith.

He revealed himself in such a way that i cannot explain.

His love and warmth blanketed us, and He didn't leave us out in the cold.
no, friend.  He would never do that.

He was preparing for something great, and i wouldn't trade the lessons we learned for anything.

those deep valleys paved the way to new life like we never could have imagined.

the fresh hope of spring in our lives was reassuring, new, and alive! 

our healthy hope had been restored, and our love for Him renewed.
if you are in a dark season, be assured, there is hope.
:)

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end."


Ecclesiates 3:1-11

xo,