Seasons
I was tired a lot this year. It’s been such a rollercoaster year, and even as I write this, I am still very tired — so much so that it took every ounce of determination in me to sit down and write because God forbid a year ends without publishing my piece of mind. I went from publishing pieces weekly in 2022 to writing only 4 in 2023 and 2 in 2024, and this is my first attempt at writing this year. This silence is not because I do not have lots to say; I am just too drained to say it. So this piece is for everyone who has shown up and those who still cannot, It’s for everyone trying to navigate life and those who have some of it figured out. It’s for those who are satisfied, yet still hungry for more. It is for those who settled into their answered prayers and are already eager for new answers. To everyone navigating seasons, I hope that at the end of this piece, you remember that God is involved in the most intricate details of your life. If you don’t believe in the wonder-working powers of God, this is the point where you stop reading, but to the rest of us who will read till the end? Cheers! You are about to eat good🥂
I almost lost myself to capitalism. This year, I got an unpaid promotion that had me doing 4 times my previous workload, sitting on the edge and constantly trying to prove myself. I didn’t realize early enough that I barely had a life outside of work. I no longer did the small things that brought me joy, I went from reading 50–100 books a year to barely reading 2. I stopped writing completely, not as a hobby or even as a means of income. The possibility of doing any activity after work became bleaker and bleaker because I literally would be too weak most days. I didn’t acquire any of the certifications; meanwhile, I used to sleep on Coursera and Udemy for the fun of it. It took 10 months for me to realize that I was stuck in a web of thankless labor, and I had started to tie my worth to KPIs determined by line managers. I was forgetting who I was, even when I was endlessly pouring, but into empty baskets that left me empty. I know I am the queen of showing up, and I have a full piece on that here, but it is important to know when showing up is no longer worth your time. You see, I had questions, loads of questions because professionally i had found myself in a position that didn’t align with my authority or progress and Joy, As a believer, I am one of those people who believed in showing up excellently in the work place, excelling there, breaking grounds as every part of your life is part of your ministry so you can tell that i felt like a colossal failure knowing i wasn’t getting things right.
Remember, I said I had questions? Yes, those questions mostly stemmed from wanting to hold God to his promises over me, and everything I was seemingly going through didn’t seem like those promises. Now, did I really say “everything”? I really was going through a dark time in some aspects of my life, but it would be inaccurate to say everything was going badly. This year, Many things went well for me, and I will list a few. I aligned with my purpose partner, entered a purposeful relationship, got engaged and started planning my wedding. Now that’s another amazing story that I hope to write someday soon, but I will give hints in saying that in that aspect of my life, I thrived in a way that didn’t seem possible for years, and I saw God’s word fulfilled as he said it. This year, I started a business and a thriving one too, growing at a speed and bringing me fulfilment in ways I didn’t imagine. I am thriving in service to God and in ministry, I am holding the hands of people God has placed in my hands, discipling them and giving myself daily to service even when it is difficult, i am consistently showing up, I could keep listing many other things that are going well, going exactly how God had said, happening in accordance to prophesies, words of knowledge and wisdom. I said all this to say that, In seasons, everything matters, the big things and the seemingly small ones.
Seasons remind us that life unfolds in chapters, that purpose matures in phases, and that grace accompanies every shift. They are God’s way of delivering on his promises, teaching us that nothing stays still and nothing grows all at once. Each season carries its own instruction; some invite us to sow with faith, others to wait with patience, others to reap with gratitude, and for some, you must rest and be renewed.
With seasons, the definition is not set in stone; they go beyond planting and harvesting a particular seed. They many times include pruning
You see, we tend to define seasons by happenings and happenstance. We build expectations mostly shaped by our own desires, craft out perfect phases of events that should end in “Praise,” and make reference to “My waiting season,” “My joyful season,” “My pruning season,” and what have you. You are not exactly wrong, but you will miss seeing God working in the intricate details of your life if you think seasons are perfectly crafted to suit a narrative or to be boxed by singular events at a particular time.
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So seasons could look like failing at starting that business and but thriving in your career, failing in that relationship, but successful in the boardroom, question marks about parenthood, but clarity in marriage. Seasons could look like multiple things happening at the same time but progressing at different paces. It is not always one thing. It could be several things. On the other hand, it might not be several things but that one thing that will be worth the wait.
Remember that even in planting seasons, multiple fruits grow, multiple harvests yield, but not all with equal amounts. You could have planted different seeds at the same time, but their harvest and pruning times will be different.
I know you are wondering the moral of this gist, and I will tell you.
You see. I have lived and battled enough with the will of God to say this categorically. Lines do not fall in a pleasant place just because we say it, the tunnel doesn’t become shorter for us to reach the light just because we wish it. Making plans and setting timelines does not mean this will happen exactly as you desire, and you know the big one I am about to drop? Just because you got a word of prophecy or a word of wisdom does not mean you won’t do the work. Miracles happen, but they won’t always drop on your feet. Before a harvest comes tilling of the ground, uprooting, and plucking the fruits. There’s really a harvest. It just won’t magically appear at your doorstep. God plants desires in us, possibly orchestrates things for your sake, but you have to move.
As the year ends, like me, you probably have had questions. You are wondering if you should still hold God to his promises or if they have already fallen to the ground. You are looking at the timelines you set, and you have likely run out of time, or maybe you are now setting new goals and new resolutions, looking to reset the timer for the new year because you have another 365 days to try again, but the real moral of this gist? Your 365-day window doesn’t always start from January to end in December. December to December is 365 days, June to June is 365 days. In that window are your different seasons, at different stages with different harvest times. I wrote all this just to tell you that God sees you, and he keeps his word, so intentional that he watches over his word to fulfil it. This will of God is not the problem. You must first understand his will for you. Maybe this is the season to focus more on tending your fields than counting the possible yields from that one harvest.
I am going to end this gist by saying, God’s word is real, and he cannot be boxed into times, seasons and results. God is never late; he is always on time. Where he has you now is necessary for where he is taking you next. Sometimes he allows the winter so we can appreciate the spring he promised.
Remember that God is not bound by current season, He uses it to prepare you for the next. — Christine Caine.
