How do we know when a season is over?
In the natural world, there are clear signs and indicators. Take right now, for example—we’re moving into the last days of summer. There’s a sense of letting go and preparation that begins. The days grow shorter, & the temperatures begin to drop at night… Have you ever noticed how it feels different? Like, the air is different? I always think of the song "The Boys of Summer" by Don Henley... And my heart grows wistful. The end of seasons can be like that.
Fall is probably the clearest example of a season’s shift. You can smell the coming winter in each crisp evening. For me, fall always carries a sense of nostalgia—a mix of beginnings and endings.
A new school year. Letting go of long summer beach days and warm ocean surf sessions. And, of course, the most obvious change: the foliage transforming into breathtaking shades of red, orange, purple, yellow, and brown.
Nothing compares to the splendor I grew up with in the northern Midwest. Fall was also harvest time. I can still picture the combines in the fields, dust billowing behind them, filling my memories.
My grandfather in ND 1950's
So there are two different responses to the autumn season.
The first, we will call, the overly enthusiastic pumpkin spice person. Haha! You know exactly what I am talking about! You either have this friend or you are this person. I’m giggling as I write because it is so real.
That person who, the day after Labor Day, busts out their cute boots that can only be worn in cooler weather even though it’s still in the 80’s! They will do an “Instafake” post the first cold-ish day of the fall, showcasing their outfit, complete with a beanie, scarf, yoga pants, Uggs and a pumpkin spice latte! That will read something like, “The leaves aren’t changing. They’re blushing with happiness. The #PumpkinSpiceLatte is back!”
HAHA! You know who you are! Cry out to Jesus! hahaha! Sigh… I’m crying.
Any whooo… The second response to the fall season is total denial and resentment. Endless summer people! I know people who say they hate fall because it means winter is coming. I mean, I kinda get that. I felt that more when I lived in Minnesota, for sure! Minnesota winters are like 8 months. 8 MONTHS!!! No joke, and not for the weak of heart.
Here in North Carolina, you see these (Endless Summer) people a lot. They do not own a winter coat (my husband). They will wear flip flops all the way through most of the winter and shorts! Even when it is 30 degrees outside. They are often tan all year. Hmmm... (your secret is safe) hehe... Come on, people, we are in the South, but it can get cold!
I’ll ask them, “Aren’t you cold?!”, usually getting a snarky “I thought you were from MN!! " response and being told that I am weak. Haha! Maybe so.
Honestly, one of my greatest fears and often a huge decision-maker for me is, “What if I am cold?!?!?!?” HAHA!
It feels confining, like it no longer fits. Like those jeans you used to love because they made you look and feel great, but now they make you feel like a stuffed sausage!
So, what’s my point in all this? How do we know when the seasons of our lives are over?
This is more complicated, isn’t it? Most things in life have a beginning and an end. They’re a blessing for a time, and then something shifts. Something changes—or maybe we change. Suddenly, what once felt perfect no longer fits quite right. It becomes uncomfortable, maybe even irritating.
We might notice that we no longer have the same influence in an area or that we feel like we're running into a wall no matter how hard we try.
(I want to be clear: not all struggle means you should go in another direction. Struggles have different causes, and a change in season is just one of them.)
Some things are meant to last a lifetime: marriage, parenting, your walk with Jesus. But there are other things—and people—that blow into our lives for a season. One day, you look up, and they’re gone. You don’t even know when it happened because it felt so natural.
What do you do when the thing you’re so good at, the thing that once gave you life, starts to feel… itchy? It feels confining, like it no longer fits. Like those jeans you used to love because they made you look and feel great, but now they make you feel like a stuffed sausage!
Your leaves are changing.
You can feel it inside, but the people around you want you to stay the same because they don’t like change either. Maybe they’re telling you, “Just make it work. You just need rest. More money. You need to press through.”
And honestly, they could be right. You don’t need to quit just because you’re tired. Sometimes, you simply need rest.
Or maybe… it’s time to buy new jeans.
(For the record, I’ve got a stack in my closet that doesn’t fit anymore. I keep trying to return to my twenty-something or even thirty-something body, but it hasn’t happened yet. And you know what? Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.)
To quote Sara Groves:"The places that used to fit me cannot hold the things I’ve learned. And those roads were closed off to me while my back was turned.”
It’s time to die.
Wait, what?! “It’s time to die?”
Hang on, let me explain.
What if that dream you chased so hard, that beautiful accomplishment you poured your life into, was never just about the dream itself? What if its purpose was to deliver seeds—seeds designed to be sown?
Let me break it down.
A tree begins as a tiny seed and grows for years, enduring winds and storms, bearing scars to prove it. It bathes in sunlight, stretches its roots deep, and reaches toward the sky, becoming strong and mature.
Then what?
After all those years of growth, the tree bears fruit. That fruit is the tree’s ultimate goal. It feeds us, but it’s also the delivery system for the next generation: seeds.
Are you catching what I’m throwing down?
What if everything I have accomplished thus far, all the work, the dreaming with God, the stepping out of the boat, is a tree? It is beautiful, strong, full and lush.
It's time to get personal. Here is my tree.
For those of you who don’t know me, I have been a musician and singer my entire life. As a little one, I sang nonstop. I drove my siblings crazy! I dreamed from a very young age, that I would grow up to be a singer. As the years passed, my mother saw this in me and had me singing at church, and then, at 12 years old, she made me join our church worship band.
By the time I was 21, I was leading worship bands, writing music and poetry, and completely consumed with music. I was driven—maybe even obsessed. I used to pray to God to take away the desire because it was such a source of frustration for me—an idol at times.
Here's the thing: I am not a musical prodigy! I took classical piano in my youth, but it never quite clicked. Every ounce of growth came by hard work, prayer, and tears. I taught myself (God's mercy) to play piano by ear and eventually rhythm guitar as well. I eventually put out an EP, The Breaking.
Through my adult years, I have had the honor and gift of playing and singing alongside some of the most amazing humans. People who are engraved on my heart. I eventually came to become a worship leader/coordinator by trade.
Everything I had worked for my whole life.
I was managing twenty-some musicians and singers of varying abilities and temperaments. I put teams together for one practice and three services a week. In the world, that would be three gigs a week… except using any six of 26 band members from week to week, singing any one of a thousand songs in any one of 12 keys.
On top of all that, I had to stay sensitive to the Lord’s leading, striving to keep things fresh while following His direction. It was the hardest, most amazing job ever. I had found my calling, and it was indeed my calling for that season.
**(So if you have a worship leader in your life… thank them for all the unseen work. It’s tough stuff… The burden is real.)
What if everything I have accomplished thus far, all the work, the dreaming with God, the stepping out of the boat. Is a tree.
It is beautiful, strong, full and lush Tree.
What I have done has borne fruit. Good fruit. It has been a blessing to me and others. It's a beautiful tree.
It's now time to die.
The tree? No.
Me? Sorta.
The seed? Definitely!
God is asking us to freely sow what we have been given. He will not leave you hungry. Just like the story of the widow and the oil... He will turn your small offering (especially when it's all you have!) Into plenty for you and then some! It takes faith to sow everything you got!
Where are you on your journey? Are you growing your tree? Are you beautiful, strong, full, and lush? Were you believing you have reached your goal, suddenly realizing there's more? Are you holding a pocket full of seeds, not knowing what's next? Ask God what is next.
PLEASE READ THE CONCLUSION IN "Seasons and Seed" Part 2
Please share how this relates to your season in life!
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