For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV

The crunching and swooshing of freshly fallen leaves under my feet prompt me to look down. I reach for one single leaf and twirl it around and around in my hand. My eyes focus on its vibrant colors and I'm amazed at how the deep red, yellow, and orange seamlessly bleed into one another. The pattern for the leaf’s shift from a green Summer leaf to a colorful Fall leaf contains no real definition.

Staring at the beauty of this dying leaf, my gaze drifts to my hand effortlessly holding it. I take note of the creases and lines that are increasingly prevalent on my skin. Aging is taking place in tiny increments, and now that I am rounding the curve to 50, I’m acutely aware of its signs.

The Teacher’s words in Ecclesiastes echo in my mind: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. And I’m reminded of the constant change taking place in this life––the shifting from one season to the next. Some are hard seasons of illness, grief, loss, or financial struggles. Yet others are filled with laughter, joy, success, and fulfillment.

But no matter the season––good or bad––we can hold on to the Teacher’s follow-up words to His revelation of guaranteed change. Let this truth usher hope into any season: He [God] has made everything beautiful in its time (vs. 11).

And so, I’ve decided that I’m okay with the aging process––and all of life’s changes––because I know it represents a promise: a promise of an ending that leads to a beautiful beginning. Every second, step, and stage in this life moves me closer to my eternal home––something splendid and beyond compare.

Friend, I don’t know what season you’re in today. Maybe it’s filled with wonder and excitement. Or maybe you’re struggling to make it through the darkness in a season that seems never ending. No matter what, your situation will change. And through it all, God’s presence will remain. He is creating a marvelous masterpiece of your life.

Prayer

Dear Father, help me to trust Your presence in the current season I’m in––and every season of life. Remind me that Your plan for me is always good. Thank You for bringing beauty from the hardest places. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Ponder

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. ~ Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

How does believing that God is bringing about a beautiful plan for your life, right where you are, give you hope today?