If you saw my post a few weeks ago about stepping off the non-profit board and back into my grief ministry, you know there are a few changes afoot in my life!
While God did impress upon me a nice ministry “to-do” list, I’m not diving into the deep end quite yet – and he seems to be fully supportive of that.
For the first time in years, I’ve entered a season that is primarily stress-free and void of any significant conflicts. It’s definitely a sweet spot!
The first fun project was redecorating my home. For example, the bedroom set was purchased about 40 years ago when Dale and I got married. Other various furniture pieces are even older than that. In fact, the large wicker laundry basket that Dale brought to the marriage had a newspaper in the bottom with a date of 1976! Yep… time to update.
It’s been an absolute joy as I moved from some new furniture into what I’d call “redecorating creep.’ Let’s not stop at new furniture – let’s move all the way to new Kleenex box covers and everything in between!
I’m near the end of the project and couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome. I even learned to put together a patio set.
I walk around my house, and it just makes me smile. I see it as an absolute blessing from God, and every morning during my prayer time, the first thing I do is thank him for this season.
Most of what I write about are the ways God grows our faith and our relationship with him during our hardest times. When we are deeply grieving, he meets us in those depths and reminds us that he is lockstep with us. That is still the heartbeat of this ministry, and I’ll return to that soon.
But should we overlook the lessons found in the sunshine? How do we walk through a season of rest with the proper perspective? Do we even have to work at that?
It can be too easy to take those seasons of rest for granted, especially when we think that our whole life should look like that! But reality eventually sets in and we look back and realize what we almost missed – an opportunity to grow in ways unlike those times in the valleys.
If and, hopefully, when God leads you into some calmer waters, here are some suggestions for make the most of that gift of rest:
- While you may still be waiting for that infamous “other shoe” to drop, recognize as quickly as you can that God has indeed brought you out of a season rife with trials or conflicts of many kinds.
- See this change of season as an absolute, deliberate gift from God. He knows rest is vital to our overall well-being. Don’t miss this shift by focusing only on how hard the past days have been.
- Praise God for the fact that he knows precisely how long we can live in those deep, dark valleys. He hasn’t forgotten us through them, but in his time, he will bring us back into a season of light.
- Thank God for the lessons he taught you in the valley – and consider how you can apply what you’ve learned during this time of respite.
- How might you bless others now that your focus and energy aren’t entirely on surviving to the next day? Is it simply a friendlier outlook on life (which is great)? Or might you reach back to someone still in their own valley?
- There’s no better – or easier – time to develop or expand a heart of gratitude. Be specific. Run through the list of people and circumstances that you are so thankful for. I’m grateful for the “Gratitude Journal” I received from a dear friend for my birthday. She was the first entry.
- Don’t lose sight of the fact that you aren’t now immune to setbacks down the road – but don’t camp out there. Use that likely reality to enjoy this season as deeply as you can.
I had a list of 9-10 people that I promised to follow up with once my life became a little less chaotic. What a pleasure it’s been for me to now be able to enjoy that “catching up” time with them.
Many of those gatherings were with friends who were deeply hurting and needed a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, and a heart to speak truth.
God will give you opportunities to bless others during your season of respite. Yes, rest, but also be open to his calling to use your sunshine to bring a few rays into someone else’s life.
May God help us all to make him the center of whatever season he has placed us in – for growth through the storms, or for deep gratitude in the sunshine.
He makes me lie down in green pastures…
He restores my soul.
Psalm 23:2-3