Skip to main content

Season’s Greetings

I’ve been thinking a lot about seasons lately. You see, I’m a planner. I find great comfort in knowing as best as I can what’s next, how to accomplish it, what steps to take. I do this with everything. I mean ... everything. From my meals to my workouts to my kids’ schedules. Especially my kids schedules. So, when this COVID thing hit, it didn’t just send me for a loop, it sent me into a vortex. Like the eye of a tornado kind of vortex.

I love my kids, but I’m no school teacher. In fact, I spend lots of money at the end of each school year on bribes - I mean gifts - to show my deep appreciation for these professionals. So, when I first learned spring break was being extended, I panicked a little. Then two weeks later, school was delayed further until ultimately distance learning became our new normal. Except it wasn’t normal. Far from it. My children, one who suffers from a learning disability, struggled to the finish line. My husband and I jockeyed for space in our small home to find some semblance of an office we could both use while strategically positioning the camera so it didn’t show moving boxes and piles of laundry in the background. Did I mention we were also in the midst of a move during this forced quarantine? Seasons. They’re fun.

Then came the job offer. After being self-employed for 13 years, I decided to take an offer to be the Director of Development and Marketing for former client. Now that my boys were 13 and 16, it felt like the right time - the right season - to make this leap, as anxious as I may be.

So, yeah, the topic of seasons has been heavy on my mind lately. I’ve been praying diligently for all the graduates and their parents who missed out on what this season should have brought them - celebration for achieving big milestones. I grieve for families who lost loved ones only to have to host drive-by funerals, a bitter way to mourn during a season of sadness. I’m heartbroken for missed proms, shelved competitions and cancelled last sports seasons. I mean, so many people got robbed of the many joys spring should bring.

This time of Covid, this season, has looked different to many of us based on what is happening in our lives. But it has most likely meant feelings of loss, fear, frustration, anger, joy and even despair.

A massive hail storm hit our new home just two weeks after we moved in. I’ve never heard such a commotion as I did at midnight when those baseball-sized blocks of ice pummeled our roof and cars, causing catastrophic damage. We knew the roof needed to be replaced in the future. We also knew without the help of insurance we couldn’t afford the price tag. After that storm, a blessing came when we learned our roof would be fully replaced with little out of pocket expense on our part.

Seasons. They can bring devastating consequences. Yet, once the mess is cleaned up, we can often see a shining light of hope. Just like after that hail storm.

Yes, lots of people are still reeling from this latest season of COVID. Many are without jobs, have lost businesses, are still wondering about the future - me included, especially as I try in vain to fill my son’s summer with something besides Netflix and video games now that most of his camps have been cancelled. But what I’ve learned is we can’t plan for everything - or, anything, for that matter. Sometimes we have to let the hail fall and see what new directions God is pointing us toward. Many times there’s a hidden blessing among the mess.

And if my mess is any indication of the size of the blessing, then this just might be the best season yet!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The War On Boys

Well, I guess it all started about ten years ago, when the doctor told me I was going to be the Mommy to a bouncing baby boy. Excited, I dove in, scouring stores for adorable little boy clothes, hats, accessories. That's when it hit me. As I viewed the pitiful ten-foot-by-ten-foot assortment of boy clothes at Target, I compared it to the miles of girls' clothes just an aisle over. That's when the rage began; that's when I was first introduced to the injustice of it all, the fact that the world is at war with boys. And it's just become worse as the years have progressed. Now, the proud mother of two boys, I can see this same attitude penetrating all parts of my boys' lives, and I'm fed up. From school, to clothes, to online smut, the world is attacking the spiritual, emotional and physical attributes that real men should have. Instead, they hope to turn every boy into pseudo-women, feminine in their makeup so as to be easier to manipulate, or targeting t...
6 comments
Read more

I Don't Want a Girl: 5 Reasons Having Only Boys Is Awesome

When my husband and I were awaiting the ultrasound for our second pregnancy, I was, as most moms, excited. I couldn't wait to tell everyone I was having a girl! I even wore pink that day to commemorate, what I assumed would be, the outcome. I grew up a girly girl. My mother entered me in my first pageant at age 4, and I continued on through the Miss America system until I aged out at 25. So, my life was pretty much make up, high heels, glittery dresses and spotlights from the time I could walk a straight line. I couldn't wait to doll up my little girl with frilly things and pretty bows. I was so ready for that! What I wasn't ready for, however, was the bitter disappointment I felt when I was told we were having boy number two. My spirits plunged. I had the ultrasound tech check again. Yep, she said. She was certain. I smiled, of course, thankful that our baby was healthy and that we were blessed by another little person to raise. But I couldn't shake the disappo...
2 comments
Read more

Open Palms: Learning to Hold On Loosely

I can't even tell you how long it's been since I've written in my blog. Months? Years? Probably years. But daily I have messages fly in and through my mind that I think, "I've got to share this with people!" but I never do because I'm usually driving a kid or chasing a kid or yelling at a kid or nagging a kid to pick up something off the floor. You get the picture.  Yet, I'm compelled to get off my rump and finally put this down because, Lord help me, I've been through a lot lately. Not kidding. Full disclosure, we haven't been through as much as some, and I'm not claiming to understand other people's real pain or suffering ... like cancer or the loss of a child. So, please understand I'm living in reality here when I tell you these recent life challenges are probably child's play compared to some people's daily mountains. But for those struggling with climbing over the steep hill called trust in times of change, thi...
1 comment
Read more