Changing Seasons Changing Me [day 26: change]

The talk of the town here in Kathmandu right now is how the weather changed from summer heat to winter cold basically overnight. Thankfully, I had gotten a bit ahead of the game last weekend by pulling all of our out of season clothes out of storage and washing them. They tend to get smelly through the spring and summer stashed away in plastic boxes.

There was not a slow and steady drop in temperature; it just kind of plummeted. I went from hugging my fan one day to teeth-chattering out of the shower the next. In the sun, it’s still warm, and I am reminded of the “fall” in North Georgia when you’d wear a sweater and boots in the morning and hate yourself by the afternoon. All of a sudden, though, in shade or at sundown, I’m reaching for thick socks and fleece hoodies and dreading the bitter days ahead.

Autumn was always my favorite season in America. I picked my college of choice because it was a gorgeous place in the fall! I guess I would be described as basic — pumpkin-loving, flannel-sporting, boots-wearing, fall-loving girl. I so miss the leaves changing, temperatures dipping, and hot chocolate sipping. I miss the slow and steady change each day brings as it gently ushers us into winter.

There’s beauty in the slow change that’s easy to miss when the change comes suddenly. There’s a certain shock in sudden change that leaves us frantically attempting to cope. But the slow, steady change — now, that’s something else.

I see that beauty in changing seasons, yet I fail to see it marriage, motherhood, and missional living — or even in myself. God’s changing His children — recreating and renewing us — doesn’t stop at salvation. He is continually at work to sanctify us, but sanctification is slow. Much slower than we’d like.

When I celebrate small, I savor the slow and steady change while I prepare myself for the winter which brings hardship and tests my grit. I breathe deep the sweetest parts of the season and comfort myself with Scripture when the change feels like too much too soon. I tuck into the grace of God which sustains me through each day of change, and I bask in this process which makes me more like Him.

Sanctification is testing, temptation, and struggle— but it’s also victory, learning, and growth. It’s a daily choice to follow and obey Jesus even when it doesn’t make sense or feel good at the time. Each day, these choices change me. It may not be abrupt or dramatic, but it’s happening. I am changing, conforming to the image of Christ — and it’s truly beautiful.

What season of change do you find yourself in today?

Talk to me in the comment section below!