The seasons of our lives are unpredictable, often causing fear. Change isn’t always welcome. King Solomon recognized this when he wrote in Ecclesiastes 3. Our world changes. Its inevitable. While we can try resist new seasons, God’s hand will usher them in whether we like them or not.
We can easily feel fearful of new seasons. A thousand “what ifs” creep into our minds along with an abundant “hows”. When our daughter was diagnosed with fibromyalgia last year, I wasn’t ready for this new season. We had just left the south, moved back to our home state, started new schools and a new church. High school and marching band were on the horizon for our girl and I was here for it. Her daddy and I were both “band geeks” and we couldn’t wait for the competitions and football games to cheer her on in her “zone”. She played the trumpet, like her dad, and had fallen in love with the family that being a member of the band brings when we were in Louisiana. High school could not come fast enough.
Until the thing that brought her the most joy caused her the most pain.
When I watched my girl have a full blown anxiety attack on stage of her Christmas concert in middle school, my heart broke. From that point she begged each day for me to take her out of band class. Even when she started high school, the anxiety was too much, the pain even greater. Sitting tall, a trumpet in her hands with her arms up caused radiating pain throughout her back. The season of chronic illness came in like a raging wildfire, out of control and unwanted. I was afraid.
What would this mean for our girl? Our family? Her future?
How will she get through a school day?
Will she have a life that a teenager should have?
I know better than to let my mind start spiraling. Nothing productive happens when the “What Ifs” start coming.
King Solomon addresses this too.
Leah Lively 