Previous Challenge Entry
Topic: Seasons (12/08/03)
TITLE: Walking Through the Seasons of Life By Glenda Lagerstedt 12/12/03 |
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT SEND ARTICLE TO A FRIEND |
As I ponder the seasons I think first of the ones of the calendar year. However, my mind wanders to those other seasons, the seasons of our lives. And shoes . . . I think also of shoes.
For example, some life seasons are as comfortable and welcome as our favorite sneakers, such as times with loved ones, sharing laughter and knowing that we love and are loved . . . as the saying goes, ‘warts and all.’ Other seasons, however, leave our ‘soul’ disconsolate and thin like the worn and shabby ‘sole’ of a discarded old work shoe. These are those ‘seasons of distress and grief’ involving loss and pain when we feel chilled way down to the deepest part of our being.
Many a woman looks striking in a pair of high-heeled pumps, but only she knows the pain her footgear is causing. Life seasons are like this as well. How often have we admired and even envied what looks like a blessed season in another’s life, but remain unaware of the pain that lies behind the outer circumstances. Feelings are hidden behind a bright facade.
There are times in our life when the mountain climb turns out to be a long and arduous journey upward. These are the hiking shoes seasons. And there are other spells where we are engaged in battles that relentlessly pop up from all sides and can run the range from the serious to the tedious to the ridiculous. These combat boots seasons show up unannounced and with a great deal of frequency, or so it seems.
Fortunately, we are blessed with ‘sandals at the seashore’ seasons where we walk pleasantly for a time, the water gently ebbing dabbling at our toes, sometimes with friends, sometimes in solitude. And of course we welcome the soft and pleasant ‘slippers by the fireside’ seasons of life when our cares and responsibilities can be at rest for a time.
The powerful part about this journey of the soul through all the seasons of life is that we don’t travel it alone. While we easily feel the Presence of the Lord during the slipper, sandal, and sneaker moments, we have His Promise that He is there with us during those other times that test us far beyond our own strength, and when our feet grow weary of the path. By His grace we can say with the Psalmist, “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. (Psalm 40:2 NKJV)
paste your entry here.