30 Seconds for Hope:
Have you already noticed? Life brings changes. This past year my writing of blog articles entered a new season of slow-down due to changes in my life (though I did write an article for Focus on the Family, addressing shame that parents feel when children misbehave. Check it out here). Thankfully, long ago one of my mentor moms, Mardean, taught me the concept of “seasons of life”—lessons which still help me roll through life’s changes without guilt. You can navigate changes without guilt, too, and in return you’ll be able to weather those many seasons with courage and hope.
And now the full story:
Do you remember Mardean from Gem #4? Mardean’s wisdom and positive attitudes were an inspiration to many, including me, and I learned so much from her. When my children hit middle school, Mardean spoke at a women’s retreat, and I paid attention.
“Women experience profound changes throughout life.”
“Absolutely,” I thought, “That’s true for me right now.”
I had already passed through childhood and adolescence years ago. Then I had traveled nine years of singlehood and another fifteen years of marriage, including the arrival of our four children. Each of those seasons had brought its own joys and challenges, and now I faced the challenge of learning to parent teens. Whew! This life of womanhood had certainly brought changes. What would the future hold?
“I like to view all of these changes as seasons of life that we women go through.”
Mardean expanded on life’s realities, normalizing the transitions. As I remember, first she talked of springtime, a time from birth through entry into adulthood—a time of new life and growth. Then summer arrives, the prime of life—career, wife, mother, volunteer, many hats. She went on to say that summer eventually gives way to autumn—a time for helping others, drawing from the wisdom we’ve gleaned, and also a time for helping children and grandchildren make their own ways in life. Finally, we come into winter when our bodies change and decline, yet which can be a time of experiencing our own intrinsic value within ourselves, regardless of current performance or production.
Throughout all of these seasons, the inner person never changes. The little girl becomes a woman, but she’s still knows who she is inside. The woman takes on various roles through the years, but within those roles, her inner person exists as before, just within an ever-changing body.
Throughout my years of living, I’ve witnessed firsthand the truth in Mardean’s words. Each season in my life has brought a newness in role and focus. Now that I’m in my autumn season, I take comfort that every season has its own place, with its own valuable contributions, so no need to fear the changes.
Likewise, no person is without value in whatever season they are in. Our identity doesn’t come from living in the “best of all the seasons” (whatever that could be!), but rather identity comes from knowing who I am and learning my worth. I have intrinsic worth as a person, no matter the season.
So this past year, within autumn’s season, I had to scale back from blog-writing so I could pour my (limited) energy into other things. Helping my husband publish three training manuals and build a website. Traveling with him to aid his work. Writing for Focus on the Family (you can read that article on parental shame here, including thoughts on identity and worth). Helping grandchildren with school work. Recovering from Covid three times. Yes, life brings changes.
You will go through changes, too. When you do, it’s okay to reconsider your schedule and make adjustments for that season. Without guilt. Change in life is to be expected, not resisted.
Spring. Summer. Fall. Winter. Relish the seasons. Change is normal, and it’s okay.
Thanks Mardean!
30 Seconds for Hope 