The beginning of February plays host to Groundhog Day. Ol’ Punxsutawney Phil gives us his thoughts on whether the Winter season will linger or if Spring will make an early appearance, determined by a glimpse of his shadow. Personally, I find that Phil’s forecast is questionable, but this post is not about the accuracy of weather predictions from the shadow of a groundhog. Instead, I want to talk about the necessity of a change in the seasons. Not the weather, but for my spiritual growth.
One day, I was driving to work and found myself thinking that it would be nice to see some different scenery. Then another day came and I had a similar thought. Another day, same thought. Finally one day when the thought occurred to me, I realized that the problem was me. It wasn’t in the trees around me, it wasn’t the school bus I always ended up behind with the rowdy kids, and it wasn’t in the early morning commuters going to the shopping center. It was me. Every day, I acknowledged that I wanted to see something different. Yet, every day, I would do the same things. I would drive the same route. Same right turn, same stop sign, same left turn, same red light, same school bus stop, etc. My point is, the change I kept saying I wanted to see was always available. Grabbing hold of it was right at my fingertips.
The lesson that I learned from that moment is that if I want to see a change in my life, then I’m limiting myself by clinging to the “as usual”. Change is inevitable. Change is the only constant. Change is also unpredictable and, let’s face it, sometimes the unknown can be downright frightening. You sit in anxious anticipation not knowing whether to be scared or excited. It’s better to retreat to the safety of the familiar. My comfort zone doesn’t allow change. My “as usual” is comfortable and stepping outside of it, where change lies, is the danger zone. Stranger danger for sure. But change was something that I had to learn to embrace if I wanted to experience something new or something I hadn’t seen in a while. Change is as inevitable as the seasons, but we don’t have to be afraid of it. There is something we will learn about ourselves in this new season.
There is a season for all things. Identifying your season is not the challenge. The challenge is in being equipped to endure whatever comes during that season. Think about it naturally. If Summer comes blazing in with 100℉ temps every day, then rocking my Winter finest is going to result in some problems. I may end up with heat stroke or worse. Vice versa, I don’t want to be wearing flip flops and short shorts when Father Frost arrives. Not the best wardrobe choice to help me avoid frostbite or hypothermia. In other words, identifying a season by the weather isn’t overly complex.
Natural seasons vary. The tools that I need to endure each season may also vary. Beyond my natural being, I encounter a variety of seasons as well. If I find myself in a season where I’m having a crisis of faith, then I’m going to need tools that help me overcome, not endanger my spiritual well being. I need a toolkit that will help me “weather the storm”. Notice that I mentioned a toolkit.
When I was growing up, all the elders I know used to have a junk drawer. Everything would be in it! Random keys that no one wanted to throw out because they didn’t remember what they went to. Papers. Soy sauce packets. Nails, bolts, and screws. Several pairs of scissors. Tape, both scotch and duct. Just all kind of random “you never know” things. My spiritual toolkit can’t be filled with junk that’s taking up space. So I need to make daily practice of checking in and making sure I’m not holding on to something deep within that’s only going to cause a problem later. So I encourage you to take inventory.
A problem I used to have when it came to weeding is that I didn’t want to get rid of something I was probably going to need later. Even with my clothes. I haven’t worn this shirt in at least two summers, but I might wear it next summer! Then when you try that shirt on you realize it no longer fits the way it used to. You gained weight. So now instead of getting rid of it, you become determined to lose weight to fit into it again! Don’t let this be you. Don’t waste time by lying to yourself. Don’t make excuses to hold on to what you need to let go of. That can be material things, sure. But our emotional baggage is just as heavy.
So checkout your toolkit. See if there is some fear in there that’s preventing you from stepping out on faith. Challenge the unforgiveness that won’t let you release something. Throw out the doubt and trust God for all of it. Tackling emotional baggage is not one size fits all. I’ll give you an example.
I used to have a longer commute to work and would spend way more time than I like reflecting on venting and thinking about work problems. All the while thinking, if only I had time I could sit aside to pray… I did have the time. The issue was that I was using it for something that wasn’t doing me any good. When I made that change, it shifted the way my day begins in a great way! I’d be lying if I said it was easy and happened overnight. No. But as I alluded to when I posted about habits, I had to make it a daily practice. So that my morning prayer didn’t only become second nature, but also so that it wouldn’t be so easy for me to waver back to what I’ve always done.
So not all change is scary, even when it’s unfamiliar. It can truly be for our good. Early I noted the saying Change is the only constant. But God is entirely more consistent than change itself. So when you feel fear creeping up or doubt threatening to take over and halt your progress, that’s when you pray. My pastor noted recently this saying we have. If you pray, why worry? He told us that even when we worry, we should pray. I took that and applied it across all areas of my life. When I feel afraid, unheard, lonely, or when I’m doubting, I pray anyway and through it all. I pray that you were able to grab hold of something that will help you weather this season that you are in.
Stay Sunny!
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