I recently spoke to an old friend, and she asked me how I felt about starting the child-rearing stage all over again with the arrival of our youngest son. She expressed that she would be so stressed out if she had a new baby right now. Our conversation got me thinking about a lesson that I want to teach my children, and that is the importance of embracing each season that you go through in life, even the tough ones that do not “fit” into our plan. I personally believe there is always something to learn, gain, and grow from in every season, and when we try to rush through certain times in our lives, we miss out on golden nuggets and lessons.

So often, we hear young people say that they can not wait until they are old enough to do this or that. I can recall a specific time when I said something similar as a teenager. Someone very wise told me to enjoy the freedoms that come at the stage of life I was in because moving forward for the rest of my life, I would have responsibilities that may prevent me from having and enjoying certain freedoms. I remember the word “responsibility” really standing out to me, and from that point on, I consider that every time I thought of wanting to rush a season of life I was in and experiencing.

However, I remember wanting the season of grief to pass when I lost my father many years ago. I was so tired of being sad, tired of crying, tired of wondering why my prayers did not get answered, and just tired of feeling stuck. I eventually went to talk with someone about what I was experiencing, and the counsel that I received helped me to realize that even the process of grief has to be embraced. Of course, no one wants to experience the loss of a loved one, and we want to avoid the hurt that comes with that loss at all costs. But, I learned that trying to avoid the pain was making it worse, and trying to skip through the grief process and not FEEL what was happening was making me angry and causing me to have a negative attitude toward life. Once I started embracing the process and accepting what happened, I allowed the season to teach me things that I needed to learn, I gained a lot of perspective and empathy, and my faith grew beyond measure.

So you see, every season, even the hard ones, are meant to be fully experienced. I want my children to know they have the freedom to do that. Now, it does not mean that the world will stop for us and meet us at our point of learning, gaining, and growing. Most times we will have to continue navigating through our lives while we process; after all, that is a part of embracing the season, figuring out how to incorporate our season’s circumstances into our everyday lives in the best way possible. Sometimes this takes some assistance, and we need to reach out to others for help, which may be the first step of embracing those hard seasons for many of us.

On the flip side of the coin, we can rush through the most beautiful seasons in life and miss out on learning, gaining, and growing during those times. Have you ever observed someone get a new job and immediately start focusing on their promotion? Or, maybe someone is in the dating/courting phase of their relationship, and they can not wait for the relationship to progress naturally, so they jump the gun on the next stage prematurely, ruining the purposed order of things?
How many people get pregnant and are really excited, but then they can not wait to have the pregnancy over so they can have their baby in their arms, and then the baby comes, and they can not wait until the baby stops nursing, and then they can not wait until the child starts walking? Then they can not wait until the child begins school, and before you know it, the child is grown, and they did not fully experience their child or their journey.

That is what happens when we are impatient and do not allow ourselves to be fully present and available during the varying seasons of life. I think that many of us miss out on gaining moments of happiness in those instances. In our rush, we miss the everyday moments of joy and learning right before us. That was my premise when I answered my friend’s question. I told her that I was embracing the moment, reminding myself that it goes by quickly, so remember to enjoy it. During my last pregnancy and 4-months of bed rest, my husband and I had to remind ourselves and each other to embrace the season. We did not fully understand why everything was happening the way it was happening, but we knew that God was teaching us some things, we were gaining SO MUCH, and we were growing, individually and collectively, and we look back now, and we are proud of the way we navigated that ruff terrain together.

Many of us skip over seasons or push a circumstance into being what we want at that moment because we are not patient enough to wait, and in the end, we live with regret. That is one word that keeps me on my toes. I do not want to live with regret, and I do not want to miss out on learning something I need for the next season of my life. You see, everything has a purpose. Life has taught me that God uses everything for my good and His glory! I want my children to learn that lesson and embrace every season in their life journey.