LIGHT IN ALL SEASONS

As my Christmas tree is still up and I’m officially on spring break, I’m reminded that calendar seasons and holiday seasons can be predictable—but the seasons of our lives? Not so much.

First, let’s address the Christmas tree – I like it.

Go Ahead. Judge me.

Honestly, if I were feeling better, I might have already caved to social pressures and at least removed the decorations from it. But I like the light. Those little bulbs are calming; they create an ambiance I still appreciate, even though the sun is setting later and the mornings are brighter. It isn’t full daylight until hours after I’m awake, and the tree’s glow makes my heart happy. Every morning I possibly can, no matter the season, I spend time outside around daybreak on the deck behind our garage. I enjoy watching the birds, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits… looking at the horizon, anticipating the suns arrival in the east, as it has and forever will, faithfully.

One very cloudy morning last week I wondered whether I would see the sun at all. But I sat and waited, hopeful.

The clouds began to part and suddenly, I realized I was looking in the wrong direction! The sun was at least 20 feet to the left of my gaze!

In that moment, God reminded me: in certain seasons He shows up in different places than where we’ve sought Him before. We tend to look for him in familiar places, areas where we've witnessed His Hand before. But He's always doing a new thing!

When I turned my gaze, the clouds opened low in the morning sky, and the sun came through. I humbly thanked the Lord for the unexpected warmth on my face. And so, I’m challenged in this season to expect Him in new ways—to expect a change on the horizon, a new place where the Son arrives.

As a plant mama, I notice phototropism—the way plants grow toward the light—and I see myself in this way. I crave the morning light like “watchmen wait for the morning,” drawn to the Light of the Father in a season that feels dark to me.

I’ve been holding James 1:17 close lately and I want to recognize that every single thing that he offers me, in every single season, is indeed good. 

Dear ones, there’s an unchanging faithfulness of God, yes?

He knows exactly what we need, exactly when we need it, no matter the season we find ourselves in.

May we give thanks to God, our Father, the unchanging Giver of Light.

And may we sing His praise: “There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not. Thy compassions, they fail not. As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be…”