Fall arrives early in Cleveland, Ohio. The temperatures don’t dip too radically, but the difference in the quality and quantity of light is noticeable. Some, but not many, leaves are doing their chameleon-like shift from green to red, yellow, and orange. A few bushes and trees are in the process of being set ablaze by the season.
Conversations among the neighborhood dog walkers are sprinkled with weather talk. Some love “sweater weather”, others not so much.
Many around here are mentally fast-forwarding the calendar to January and February lamenting the potential snow piled high around the city, the wind biting through stylish jackets, and worried about the sadness that potentially hovers in corners of rooms devoid of natural light.
I was on the phone this morning with a friend of mine in Atlanta. She and I are both passionate about many of the same things, so our conversations cover a wide range of topics. While the weather did not come up, Summer said something that stirred my soul.
“We need to learn to say, ‘Yes”, to the season we are in.”
“Kinda like the squirrels”, I replied. She was puzzled by my comment, so I continued.
“Squirrels know when it’s time to play and when it's time to store up food and when it’s time to rest. They don’t seem to lament what came before today or what is coming up tomorrow. I watch them from my office while glancing occasionally at the blinking cursor on my blank laptop screen. In the summer, they were chasing each other around like it was recess all day. Now, they are focused on digging up food for the winter.”
“The squirrels are living their best squirrel lives no matter the season.” I went on. “They can’t live in any other season than the one they are in. If they tried they would perish.”
Being human is a lot more complicated than being a squirrel.
Our minds inhabit many seasons at the same time. Seasons of weather, for sure. But also seasons of life (age), marriage, parenting, friendship, career, finances, and importantly, faith. And there may be even more that you can think of.
Some seasons are more clearly defined than others. Some are pleasant. Others take more effort to embrace.
Summer mentioned that we’re given a lot of advice about how to move out of the season we are in. This creates pressure to be more, buy more, do more. It stokes feelings of envy when we see the other people who are in the season we are told we are supposed to be in.
Advice to move on creates a sensation that maybe we’re doing the wrong thing.
We rarely talk about how glorious it is to be right where we are.
Right now, right where you are is the only opportunity you have to love.
To love God. To love your neighbor. And to love yourself.
And how magnificent a gift this is.
Some of us are knee-deep in seasons of caregiving while others of us are learning what it means to care for ourselves again. I hope this idea of, “Saying ‘Yes’ to the season you are in” is a balm for your soul.
What does “Saying ‘Yes’ to the season you are in” mean to you? Click the speech bubble and let me know. There are so many wise readers in our community, I’d love to hear from you.
Something to Ponder
A quote from one of my favorite authors
Charlie Mackesy
A podcast episode
My friend Summer has a beautiful podcast called, The Presence Project. I think you’ll enjoy her most recent episode entitled, “Where God’s Pursuit and Practical Habits Meet”.
So much yes to this! It reminds me of the quote from the series finale of The Office, when Andy says "I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." There is so much wisdom in seeing the good of our present season and treating it like "the good old days!"
I love this! Once I decided to BE in the season I'm in (my website) and not think ahead to writing a book, so much changed. There was a shift. Instead of questioning whether I was doing it right or if this was worth it and all the other doubts, I embraced it - the season of my website. I believe there will be a season to write a book, but it's not right now. And that's okay! God will unfold that path for me, but for now, He says...Be right where you are in the season, and I will be with you!