I rise from slumber. Eyes blinking, emerging into a new day, breathing in the cool dawn. A worship song, a text of scripture, sacrament and sustenance for the rush ahead. I stretch and receive this gift of life.
The children mill around, laughing, arguing, creating miniature books and clicking through school-at-home assignments. I feed them, the cats, the turtles. Wash the dishes and the laundry. Answer emails. Tasks are being accomplished in the work of the day.
Dinner is on the table, tired, dirty faces gathered around. A recap of the day shared, a final plea for wrestling or capture the flag answered. One foot in front of the other to finish the day, put tired-crazy bodies to bed. The fullness of each moment now weighs heavy, and I long to lay myself down.
Finally, sleep. An entering of the grave of bedsheets. Stillness. Slow breathing. A pause on the outside while the inside rejuvenates, heals, folds information from the day into creases of dreams. I await the resurrection of the morning.
Valuing THE SEASON OF Your SOUL
Each day is a miniature lapsing of seasons. We move from the Spring of waking to the Summer of producing to the Fall of weariness to the Winter of rest. All this exactly as our Creator designed.
It’s beautiful in its rhythm that moves from preparation to harvest and back again. Each piece of the day has its place, its purpose and its dependency on the others. How good it is to work hard, accomplishing much, and long for sleep. How pleasant it is to rest well and awake refreshed to a new day.
Yet we often ignore the sanctity of these rhythms, favoring production over sleep or escapism over fruitfulness. It’s the same in our spiritual lives.
I want to offer to you today the suggestion that not only does your spiritual life move through these agrarian-type seasons (most easily recognized by the Western definition of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter), but also that each one is equally valuable, beautiful and purposeful.
WHAT THIS SPIRITUAL PATTERN LOOKS LIKE
I’ll use the past three or so years of my own life as an explanation…
A few years ago, when I was closer to burn-out and moral failure than I dared to admit, I accepted the invitation to join a class on Spiritual Formation. I began to journal. To sabbath. To Listen. To repent. I found myself excited about Jesus again and his love blossomed out of every passage of scripture I read, every worship song (and even some contemporary songs) I sang, and out of every page of my story that I wrote.
My soul was in the new life and growth of Spring.
The more I came alive again to the joy of Christ, the more excited I was to lead others down this path with me. I eagerly organized worship events and retreats. I attempted leading others in the life-giving practices I’d found. I wrote and wrote and kept a list of 100 more ideas I wanted to write about.
My soul was in the fruitfulness of Summer.
I learned and flourished and produced and it all came to the harvest of a book. But I began to grow weary. The leadership roles that once gave me joy felt burdensome. Jesus whispered for me to come back to the cushion at his feet, to lay my head on his knee once again. I gave up some positions that had given me purpose. And COVID-19 hit, killing many of my freedoms and snatching a visit from my parents away. I grieved.
My soul was in the final thrust of harvest, the lament of Autumn.
Rest became a priority. Long walks a necessity. I kept listening and drawing near, but nothing felt fresh or invigorating. Writing inspiration ebbed. I felt dormant and pruned, offering my time only in support roles to others, initiating nothing myself. I sensed the slow, quiet, invisible growth of my spiritual roots deepening into the soil of his love while little bloomed outwardly.
My soul found solace in the dormancy of Winter.
And now, a new stirring. A breeze singing, “Awake!” An eagerness to partner with my Savior’s kingdom building invitation.
I believe I’m pushing out of the dark blanket of earth toward Spring again.
FOR EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON
But will these seasons look the same this time around? Definitely not. Does your spiritual rhythm match mine? Very unlikely. Might this Spring or Summer be touched by the icy hand of Winter like a North Idaho snow on the fourth of July? Probably.
These things are rarely a perfect circle. Life is wobbly and haphazard, but when we pull back a step or two, we can often see an overlay of the seasons, and, somehow, that perspective can help everything feel more right. More purposeful. More beautiful, wherever you are.
I plan to take us on a journey through the seasons of the soul together over the next few months, and I hope you’ll join me in reflecting on what stage you’ve come through, where you likely are now, and an anticipation of what the Lord will walk with you through next.
Because even in the death of Autumn and the darkness of Winter, your Beloved is with you. Your Good Shepherd is guiding you. Your Father is holding you.
Western culture may value times of fruitfulness over stillness, but not so in kingdom culture. Each season is necessary and intentional. Be patient with the process and God will help you see his hand in every season.
I’ll leave you today with a quote from a book I’m currently reading (and highly recommend!) on this very topic:
“I had worked for many years with rickety logic: religious busyness is the same thing as spiritual maturity. The more you do, the more you love Jesus… But the flaws in this equation began to show. I noticed that busyness bruises, stunts, rots fruit as much as grows it. And then I saw it, hidden in plain sight: if we are to bear much fruit–if that’s the goal of the Christian life–then the best model for spiritual maturity is seasons. Fruit grows in seasons, and all seasons are necessary for growing it. And seasons are as much about what is not happening as what is. It has as much to do with inactivity as with activity, waiting as with working, barrenness as with abundance, dormancy as with vitality.
For everything there is a season.”
Mark Buchanan, Spiritual Rhythm (p. 17 & 18)
What season do you identify most closely with right now? The freshness and hope of Spring, the playfulness and bounty of Summer, the perseverance and sorrow of Autumn, or the stillness and waiting of Winter?
2 Comments
I am not sure, but I think I identify with Autumn the most right now. But I’ve been in that place for a very, very long time. I suppose it’s time to start figuring out what steps or rest or whatever I need to take to move either deeper into growth or outward into excitement and leadership.
Sounds about right. The winter blog is coming soon … maybe you’ll find you need to embrace that season before you can move on.