Thrive In Every Season: Understand & Embrace Life’s Cycles

e desired to be closer to our church. A four hour round-trip drive to Philly each week had progressed into four years. Then it finally happened. We sold our Poconos home and moved to the Philly suburbs. The timely relocation of my husband’s job, just twenty-five minutes from our new place, meant we were spared of all moving expenses. Yes! Now the four-hour trip to and from church narrowed to thirty minutes. Ecstatic about how things had lined up for us, little did we know that a cycle of setbacks was just ahead.

It all started when my husband noticed his paycheck had substantially decreased. Oh no! There had been an unauthorized and unfounded garnishment. We were devastated by this. Neither did the creditor nor my husband’s employer serve notice or give him a warning. My husband felt betrayed. This was the beginning of a winter cycle that caught us unprepared, leaving us stuck in the cold and not knowing what to do. Suddenly, one day, this wisdom illuminated to my husband, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” (1 Cor. 1:27) By this we knew we had to renew our minds with God’s wisdom and then fight back. We did and we won. The garnishment was, as I said, unfounded.

Thumbing through the pages of our lives I notice that like the seasonal cycles of nature—winter,
spring, summer and fall— much the same way, steer the directions in our lives. We must ask: how closely do we follow these directions? How can we recognize them? How well can we manage these life cycles in life? What we discovered is we can design the life we love just by understanding and embracing the seasons.

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Criticism Will Come. How Will You Handle It?

atching the recent presidential debate reminded me of what I already know and that is God is our only true judge. The critical tug-of-war during that debate had both candidates throwing jabs at each other almost in a threatening toe-to-toe stance. The aggression of one candidate in particular was rude and I was wondering when the moderator would finally step in.

It is no different in our lives. No matter what you do in life you will be criticized by someone. Criticism was once very hard for me to deal with. My self-image was shattered. Over time, though, I’ve developed a formula to combat those feelings. I’ve learned to know my own heart and not allow others to judge me. This attitude has birthed a new strength and power that I don’t know how to describe.

If you find yourself on the receiving end of critical remarks, you may be wondering how long God will allow this rude aggression to continue. You may be thinking, “Lord, you are the moderator here! When Lord will you step in?”

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Power Up with a ‘Personal Retreat’

nside of me was a ball of fire waiting to be released and I then knew I had to find a place of solitude. Those with my best interest at heart were sharing their suggestions and opinions on my situation while I was yelling to them from within, “Enough is enough. Just leave me alone!”  There was just too much noise in my life.

I don’t know about you but sometimes I have to remove myself from those I love so dearly and replenish my soul so I can reconnect with my own needs and wants. Recently I had to pull away to engage in some creative play. I teach women all the time to reach deep within to discover their hidden treasures. I so wanted some time to search out my own that had been craving to be discovered. This can be a powerful, revitalizing experience.

I highly recommend you do the same.

I call it my own ‘personal retreat.’ You may be seeking answers or needing to reconnect with the Lord or just wanting to rest and refresh yourself. Take time out for yourself. My personal retreats are often right here inside my home. Yes, you can engage in personal time at home. You don’t have to pack a bag and take a trip to enjoy the power of a personal retreat.

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