Here in Western New York, the weather is pretty predictable and we typically enjoy four different seasons of equal duration. It’s comforting knowing that winter changes to spring, spring to summer, summer to fall, and so on. Summer is my favorite season and I try to enjoy it to the fullest for I know it won’t last forever.
Seasons come and go in life too. Can you imagine being stuck in middle school forever? I shudder at the thought! And how many of you celebrated when you bought your last box of diapers? I know I did. But just as we have no control over the weather patterns, we have no control over the varying seasons of our lives. Some are short-lived and predictable, while others can be quite unexpected and drag on and on. The season I’m in – and have been in – is teaching me a great deal about patience for everywhere I turn, doors seem to be closed and silence meets my hopeful heart.
But I feel the rumblings of change in my heart and I’m excited to see what God has next for me. I’m not sure whether I’m facing dawn or dusk.
![fall scents for your home](http://www.livingbetter50.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Our-Aroma-Opium-Oil-Banner-2.jpg")
Under certain conditions, the rising of the sun can look very much like the setting of the sun. Can you guess whether the sun is rising or setting on these Italian mountains? The sun was setting when I snapped this photo. Dusk was settling in before darkness fell. Whether the beginning or the end, both are beautiful in their own right.
A season of pain came into my life seven years ago and I’m pretty weary of it. And unfortunately, old pain is often compounded by new pain, never missing a beat. But I continuously strive to “be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer,” as Romans 12:12 encourages us to do. Because though an uncomfortable season surrounds me, I never lose sight of hope. It’s always there in the distance.
And as I hope for the dawning of a new season, whatever form it takes, I remember to be thankful for all things because God’s word says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” I’m still trying to figure out what my purpose is. It surely can’t be amassing kitsch and cottage cuteness, as much as I enjoy that part of my life! No, I think not.
So like my marble friend here, I lift my eyes and heart to heaven and ask God for His best for my life. I’m trying to relinquish my hold on all earthy things. Job said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” I find that passage very freeing.
I‘m learning that to live a surrendered life is to live a liberated life. Notice I said I’m learning. When I became a widow seven years ago, I didn’t realize how much died with my husband. Things I’d taken for granted, assumed I’d always have, counted on. I love to travel. And I’ve had the privilege of visiting some beautiful places. But that season has ended along with many other pleasures of life. Will I ever sit in the sunshine on a lofty stone perch high in the Italian mountains again? Who knows. I hope so. But for now, I’m letting go and letting God change my heart and my life to suit His plan for me. I’m hoping my “winter” soon turns to Spring. Because, as Frank Sinatra sang (and had chiseled on his tombstone), “The Best is yet to come …”
Originally posted on Cottage and Creek.
1 thought on “The Best is Yet to Come…”
Thanks for this beautiful post. II needed to read this to help me handle the seasons of my life. I too am in a long season of pain after pain. But I have hope, a large hope and I have faith, bigger than a mustard seed and I have dreams and I am trusting for all the better things to come in the season of this life and the next.