Seasons of Life

Happy New Year!  Welcome to 2015!  Wow, another year has come and gone with the arrival of a new year.  Throughout my days on this earth, I always try to give pause as a time for reflection.  This is especially so as a new year announces itself whether or not we are ready.  I suppose the turning of the calendar page is the best break most of us have from the old to begin the new.  Guilty of the many same issues plaguing the common man, I also find it difficult to change mid-stream when I'm out living life on life's terms on a daily basis.  So the beginning of new year provides a healthy launching point, at least mentally, to get geared up for changes for the better in our lives.  One point of reflection is the many seasons of life I have experienced in my 41 years on this planet.  A few of the seasons are viewed with a heavy heart as difficult times.  But what I find is these times are the most endearing simply because I can see the growth and character shaping forged during these rough experiences.  Looking back, I find my heart is heavy but also fond, almost relishing, the refiner's fire.  Other times, I simply smile at the care-free way I used to live: full of life and exuberance, an almost unbridled zeal, for what may lay ahead in the future.  I like to call these times "catching my stride" as I take what I have learned during the difficult times and apply them practically in daily living.  Each season of life builds upon the former, shaping and molding me in to the person I am to become.  One season of life I reminisce often is my time in the shoe industry, whether it was in: direct sales, management, or as a district trainer (operations).  Sometimes I catch myself trying to duplicate the good times I've had or an area of employment I was extremely good at.  However, similar to the Children of God (Israel) roaming the desert for forty years, I can not save the manna from the previous day because it will rot and spoil in my hand.  The practical, modern-day lesson for me is similar, "I can't go back to Egypt."  (Figuratively speaking.)  Seasons of life end and change, never to exactly duplicate itself again.  As I struggle to see what the future may hold, I must take the lessons learned from seasons gone by and move forward to see what God may have in store for me in the future.  With a new year upon me, I have said my good-byes to the shoe industry, as well as the other warm memories of times gone by, and let go of the baggage of the past weighing me down.  Now I am free to move forward to embrace my future, whatever it may entail.  I believe an idea of what that future may hold has been granted from God.  This year I will pursue the God-given passion for and talent of writing he has given me.  Could this be the year I finally write the book titled Ale for the Soul?  We'll see.  As the year unfolds, don't return to the safe and secure, but run after the wild adventure of life and its great unknowns.  There is a Sacred Romance to life, and the vast majority of us are simply waiting to see the end of our days missing the true meaning of life.  (The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis and John Eldridge.)  God-speed and Happy New Year to a new you!

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