I saw a young woman at church this morning. I know much of her story. I watched her as she walked to her seat on the front row with her husband. I watched her adjust and tug at her dress repeatedly. I could tell she did not feel comfortable in her own skin much less confident. I also watched her husband put his arm around her and she seemed to stand a little taller.
Let me tell you a few things about her. She lost her dad at a young age unexpectedly. He had been her very best friend. She compensated the next few years by turning to food for comfort. The scale reached numbers she had never seen. One day something clicked, and health and fitness became her obsession. She sculpted her body, her physique, and her mindset. In record time, she was winning championships. Together with her husband, she built a very successful business in the weight loss space. She is a motivational speaker and author. Her latest – she is a mom.
If you did not know her, you would not have recognized her from past publicity shots. Why? Like so many of us, she had gained a significant amount of weight and lost a bit of her confident edge.
To the young woman in the front row, I see you in this season. I remember being in that season myself. I saw myself in you as you were tugging on that dress. Your curves and stretch marks have meaning. Don’t despise them. Cherish every one of them. They represent the beautiful woman, wife, and mother that God created you to be!
Why do I share this story other than it is so very relatable to us all? Because, as I looked at her, I realized I was seeing her in a SEASON of her life. I am cheering for her in this season and the next that will surely follow. I wanted to tell her that as I see the smiling faces of her daughters and the love and adoration that her husband shows to their family that she is doing this season right. A season is like a chapter. You must keep going. I have no doubt that if there is breath in all our bodies, the possibility that our next season will be our greatest yet is real.
I have experienced many seasons in my life. Fit seasons. Fat seasons. Career seasons. Mom seasons. Wife seasons. Grandmother seasons. Happy seasons. Sad seasons. Prosperous seasons. Eating a box of cheerios for a week seasons because it was all I could afford. Moving seasons. Settled seasons.
All those seasons make a life. While I may not have appreciated every season I was in at the time, I can easily look back and see the heart strings that tie all my seasons together into this crazy beautiful and sometimes overwhelming life.
I guess this blog speaks to me more than it might to some of you. I normally write for my own heart and allow myself to be vulnerable in sharing with all of you in the event it might help just ONE person.
I KNOW what it feels like for someone to judge me based on a season. Judging me period. That really used to hurt me immensely. That was when I cared more about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me or what I think of me.
We are all guilty of forming judgments or opinions of others. No exceptions. We all do it.
I would just like to say that we are all in a season. So, if you happen to see someone and they seem to be struggling or not in their peak season…maybe help them as they try to reach the next one. Send them an encouraging note. Pray for them. Hug them.
Holiday seasons are especially hard. Holidays for the most part don’t come together like they do on Hallmark. Reconciliation between families doesn’t magically occur. Our dining room tables may not have all the seats filled. Even if all the seats are filled, maybe the plates are not. Health issues don’t take a break at the holidays.
Whatever season that you happen to be in, I pray that you keep moving forward. The next season may not have the same people, the same location, the same job, the same success, the same heartbreak and that is okay! It is okay for your seasons to look entirely different if you continue to show up for each one. Whatever the season…let it be “Tis The Season.”
Until Next Time,
C
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