For Everything There Is A Season

For everything there is a season.......how many times have we heard that? Have you really ever thought about the meaning of that literally? I, myself have not, but I did find myself this past week thinking more and more about those few words. I have thought about what they mean in my own life and how those few words can make a difference in one's outlook on life, struggles and decisions. Like it or not, there is a season for everything. Plain and Simple.

You may or may not know that my work schedule has changed this past week, and well...let's just say it has not been an easy transition.....at all. I have worked evenings and nights most all of my married life. When the kids were small, it was so much more important to me to be home with them so I worked evenings so my husband would be here in the evenings with them.....so we did not ever leave them with a sitter. Was it easy? No, but it worked for us. Then, about 13 years ago, I accepted a job I never really thought I would have and of course the hours were nights.....have always been nights. It has not been fun, but just the way it was. And after all of this time, and now with the kids grown, it became a little more bearable.....Once I woke up during the day, I had all day to blog, surf the net, go to garage sales, estate sales, goodwill, sew.....you get the picture, I had LOTS of "Me" time.....and well......I thought it was pretty darn good. Only downfall to that was I was so tired all the time, felt bad all the time and it was a real struggle to even go to work most nights. It was time for a change....just as the seasons change. My time finally came......I got a day job with the same company. Now, I was going to have to make lots of adjustments.

Someone forgot to mention that in exchange for better work hours, I would have to give up a lot of my favorite things...at least on a day to day basis, or at least give up some of the time I spent doing those things. It has been hard. I have complained on my facebook statuses far too much. I am sure, once I get on a routine, all will work out. I just have not developed a routine that will work for all I want to accomplish yet. It will come. I feel like at this stage in my life, I need to be home at night. I need to be here for my husband, I need to not miss out on the most important things in life....my family. I have been tragically reminded of that very thing this past week. A reminder of how quickly the seasons can change and it can all be gone in an instant has really caused me to pause and think of what is really important in this life.

Wednesday, on my husband's Birthday we got the news that a friend from long ago had passed away suddenly. She was married at one time to my husband's best friend. She was a witness at our wedding, we vacationed together, went to the lake together, and spend countless times at the movies and eating out on the weekends. Back in the early years of my marriage to my husband our lives were very much intertwined with this couple. But as some things go, our friends divorced and went their separate ways. We have not seen her in years. She remarried, had a family, seemed to have it all.

And in a blink of an eye.....her life was over. She passed away on Valentines day, while riding in the car with her husband. She had a brain aneurysm and never lived to make it to the hospital. At 51 years young, my once very close friend was gone, leaving behind a husband, a teenage son, seven year old daughter and a close extended family. A life so full of laughter and joy, it was contagious. Someone who was so loving and kind to everyone she met, she never met a stranger. A person who loved any and all animals she ever came in contact with and if we could count the strays she took in during her time here among us, well it would be astounding. A life gone. The season over. No warning. Tragic. It has rocked my very soul.

Its really shameful for me to admit that in the midst of this tragic situation, it shocked me back to reality, back to thinking about what is really important while traveling down this road of life. The past few weeks I have regrettably whined about my computer troubles, a new work schedule to adjust to, losing all of my "me" time and in all actuality, what trivial things to waste this much energy on. Sadly, once again I have been reminded how quick things can change. In a blink of an eye it can all be over, the light gone. No warning. A reminder that for everything there is a season, right or wrong. A reminder not to waste time on trivial things, don't waste energy worrying over things that in the great scheme of things do not really matter.

Instead, make the best of each season in your life. Focus on the important things in life, not the small stuff.....remember we are not promised not even another second....and in that one second, it can all be over. I am working on this very thing.....it is time to shed some of the things that cause me too much pain and worry. The seasons of this life are so short and change so rapidly, I don't have time to spend on things that don't count. Sadly, sometimes it takes a tragic event to make me stop and think about what is really important. Life....it is so short, make it count.

~Reminder to myself: If I have something to complain about that means I am still living....and really....how can I complain about that!