Seasons of life changing, while sometimes can be exciting, can also cause a lot of anxiety. We’ve all faced different seasons of life in some way – seasons of being in school, seasons of graduating from school, seasons of moving homes, seasons of starting new jobs, seasons of starting / ending relationships, seasons of waiting, seasons of having no idea what is to come next, etc. And this season of life has looked especially different than what any of us were expecting or had planned. Truthfully, I am someone that has ALWAYS been really bad at change. No matter how excited I am for what God has planned next, there is usually a lot of anxiety that follows. With graduating college, and for the first time in my life, truly having no idea what is to come next, I have felt more anxious than peace these last few months. I have been putting so much pressure on myself to figure out exactly what God is calling me to. Plans that I thought God was calling me to for years, have so quickly changed. With feeling more anxious, I have done a lot of trying to take matters into my own hands – which has ultimately led to more stress.
I will never forget, I was serving on the bus one Sunday morning with my church at school, when I was talking to the bus driver about getting ready to leave for Uganda. He was an older and very wise man who had done a lot of traveling himself. We talked about how I wouldn’t be spending my last semester of college on campus. He said, “We go through seasons of life, and we don’t get to decide when they begin or end.” He has no idea how much that simple statement has made such an impact on my life these last few months.
We do not get to decide when seasons of our lives change, God does!! There is so much freedom in knowing that I don’t have to decide what comes next because God already has it planned and figured out all in His timing. WOW. I sometimes find myself thinking that I just need to wait for this next season of life for God to use me (like when I move and start working) BUT He wants to use me right where I am! I just need to be willing to say, “Yes Lord, use me how You want to in this season.” Then in His timing, one season will end, and another will begin. No matter what season of life you are facing, be willing to let the Lord use you! It can be very easy to try to plan out our lives step by step – there is comfort in knowing that we have control (speaking from experience). But God wants us to let go of all control and trust Him. Nothing that I try to plan on my own will even come close to what God has in store for me. He wants to use us in this season, right where we are. We just need to be willing to say, “whatever it may look like, I am available, Lord – use me how you want to.”
God is a faithful and trustworthy God. He is working in the midst of whatever season you are currently in! Bring your anxious thoughts to Him; He is the only one that can provide true peace. I am learning that even in the midst of feeling anxious about what is to come, God still wants to use me. Whether you are in a season of rejoicing, mourning, or just confusion, the Lord is working. No season that you go through is wasted – allow the Lord to use you during this time and trust that He is in control.
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what 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.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-4
(If you get the change, listen to the song “Available by Elevation Worship – this song has been my prayer in trying to navigate this next season of life and has been huge on my heart)
