Seasons

Seasons.  Times to laugh, cry, rest, work, dance, mourn, stay, go..  Learning to recognize and respond to the each season we encounter is crucial.  I've failed at this over and over again.  God has a way of patiently trying to teach me over and over again, too. :)
Recently, the idea of "seasons" has been a sacred echo in my life.  This first year of ministry and motherhood combined has been the most stretching year of my life.  I've never had so much opportunity to grow (and fail) and learn.  Having a baby turns your life upside down.  Full-time ministry turns your life upside down.  Moving to another state turns your life upside down.  It's been a ride.

It is so easy to only recognize the struggle of the season you're currently facing.  Maybe it is because stress, pain, fear, envy, loneliness, hurt, etc are sometimes more sharply felt than the strengths of a season.  But every season has both: struggle and strength.  Identify both and then call out the strengths.  Believe the strengths.

I pray this is a principle I learn to practice for the rest of my life.  Life-altering Truth.  This stuff promises to change the ins and outs of my every day life.

Yes, this is a busy season.  No, my life is not exactly as I pictured it five years ago.  Yes, I am a mother a lot earlier than I planned.  No, I don't have time to shower every day (just being real).  Yes, I miss my family and friends.  No, we don't get our weekly date nights anymore.

But, you know what?  I am a part of something bigger than myself.  That busy-ness means we are actively advancing His Kingdom and helping to facilitate life change.  That baby I get to raise is going to change the world (He's already changed mine).  That shower wasn't necessary anyway- dirty hair is easier to style. That family and those friends are the best part of holidays and homecomings.  That date night will be even sweeter when we DO have time to go.  We are healthy, loved, and called according to His purpose.  This is a strong season.


As we just finished the last youth service of the year and the last Wednesday night service EVER, I'm feeling nostalgic (can you tell?).  Let me go on a little bit about what else this season has brought:

My husband has expanded his heart over and over again, showing his love to me, our babe, and the greatest students in the world.  He preaches his guts out every week and brings his best home every night. He embraces change and growth... He teaches me every day about selflessness and humility.

Luke has added a dynamic to my life that I never anticipated.  He adds wonder to the mundane, ordinary moments of the day.  His smile has captured the hearts of more than one girl already.  I feel the weight of his incredible purpose and destiny.. believing so much in one little babe's future is a perspective that has helped me understand (just a little bit) how God must feel about me.

Church Alive has become our new home.  This is where we are cutting our teeth on ministry.  How lucky are we that we are in a safe place- where we can be honest, make mistakes, take risks, and go DEEP with our church family.  Our season at Church Alive will be a bench-mark season for us.. I know it.

As I navigate this fresh season of marriage, motherhood and ministry combined, I want to document the triumphs and the growing pains.

I haven't blogged in over a year for several reasons.  Mostly because I was too tired to think about punctuation and sentence structure.  Truthfully, the thought of summing up this enormous year into a blog post was too much to attempt.  If you want all that, check out my instagram.  It's updated hourly. (kidding..sort of).  So here it is: my reentry into the blog world.  I hope my perspective is an encouragement to anyone who reads it..