The Seasons are Shifting.

The weather is colder. The clocks have turned. Leaves are changing.

Seasons are shifting.

And so am I.

I am shifting from a time of forming and searching to performing and rejoicing.

For the last several months, my motto has been:

“God has a sense of humor- I’m just trying to figure out the punch line.”

because it seemed as though He took the written copy of all the plans I had and took a giant red ink pen, slashing corrections onto every page. Nothing has gone according to plan; yet, I look back on each hard day and realize that I wouldn’t change one single thing. Yes, God shut a variety of doors on me, whether that was with relationships, clubs, traveling, or opportunities, but it forced me to step back and look for open windows. Take another, harder approach to things that should’ve been so simple and easy to attain.

The seasons are shifting.

And so am I.

One of my favorite Bible stories takes place in Daniel 1-3. It’s the story of Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego (if you ever watched Veggie Tales, it’s the one with the giant chocolate bunny). The story revolves around these three men who were faithful to God and refused to bow down to any idols, even though the penalty was death. The death, you ask, was from a fiery furnace that was so hot even the soldiers that threw them into the flames were killed from the heat. My favorite part lies in the furnace, though. No, the men did not die. But they were not alone. For the king, Nebuchadnezzar, not only saw that Shadrach, Meschack and Abednego walking around, but a fourth was with them.

“But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

-Daniel 3:25

Yes, God met them in the fire. And I guess God met me in mine, too. Now, I didn’t deny worshipping a golden idol as big as the Empire State Building or wind up in Hell at some point in the last couple of months, but I was in fire nonetheless. In the Bible, God is referred to as the potter, and we are the clay (Isaiah 64:8). Allow me to enlighten you on the pottery art form.

A potter (God) takes this ugly mound of clay (us, obviously) and works very hard to make something kind of beautiful. The molding part itself takes time and a lot of strength to get just right. Finally, the last step to finishing a piece of pottery is to put it in a kiln, or a mini furnace.

Yes, now we have reached the full circle.

Before a piece of pottery goes into the kiln, it lacks the luster and beauty that is often the selling point of the piece.

After the fire, as you can clearly see, there is beauty and shine.

God smoothed out my rough edges. Where I lacked luster or excitement, He fulfilled me. When I was easy to break, He strengthened me. When I thought I couldn’t take any more molding, He looked back and said, “this is good”. God prepared me in the same way a potter prepares a piece- time and patience. Strength and persistence. And then He placed me in the fire and met me there at my darkest. When I thought I couldn’t possibly handle the heat anymore, He took my hand and led me out of my furnace/kiln. I am no longer apart of the earth, mixed in with other pieces of clay- I am a stand alone piece. I have an identity and self-awareness I could only receive from being trapped in a hard place where I could only rely on Jesus to rescue me.

The seasons are shifting.

And so am I.

I will continue to seek God and take the challenges as they come, day by day. But I realize that there is a purpose to each season we go through, and a reason for why we endure hardships. Perhaps these hardships include a breakup, a death in the family, financial stress, friendships disappearing, opportunities slipping and the desire for Jesus lacking… but God meets us in each season, in every fire.

Ecclesiastes 3 tells us:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

Yes, there is a purpose for everything. There is a specific time and a season for each change in our lives. We are allowed to experience a season of heartache, loneliness, grief, stress, confusion, anger, loss, fear, silence and regret- but we must also remember our God is a God who conquers change and remains God in each season. He is constant in the change, and for that, He is the best possible foundation to rely on when terrifying change occurs. In these seasons, we are to learn from the mistakes we make and move forward, hand in hand with God out of the furnace. That is when change happens. That is when a shift takes place.

The weather is colder. The clocks have turned. Leaves are changing.

The seasons are shifting.

And so am I.

So be it,
Claire.