Embracing the Season You’re In

After my daughter was born, I worked hard for almost a year to get back in shape. I’m now seven months along in my second pregnancy and those abs are nowhere to be seen, touching my toes is a distant memory, shaving my legs is a terrifying mix between Helen Keller and Edward Scissorhands, and waddling is my main mode of transportation.

While it’s difficult to work hard at something only to watch it fade away, I have to remind myself what this season is going to produce: a sweet baby boy who will turn our family of three into a family of four.

When we were first trying to get pregnant, the doctors told me the odds were stacked against us because of my struggles with endometriosis. I had surgery, and we were so blessed by our baby girl. I had been told I would need surgery again if we wanted to try for another baby, and yet our little boy surprised all of us. I’m so incredibly thankful to be able to feel those little baby kicks and hear that strong heartbeat.

Our Christian walk is the same way. We have to learn to embrace the season we are in—whether it’s a season of difficulty, a season of dryness, or a season of celebration—knowing that God will use each one to produce something. When we are struggling, God is always there pruning, plucking, watering, and sometimes uprooting so that we can enter a new season of producing fruit.

Embracing a hard season is almost always easier said than done, but for anyone currently in a period of mourning or heartbreak, I encourage you to reflect on Isaiah 53:10—Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him.

We know that the only reason God was pleased to bruise Jesus was because He knew the bigger picture. God didn’t take delight in the suffering of His Son, but in what was accomplished through it.

We don’t take pleasure in our pain, but in the knowledge that God will use it to accomplish His purpose for His glory. The same way that I know my sweet season of pregnancy will produce a baby boy, scripture promises that our seasons will always produce fruit when we choose to delight in the Lord:

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”  – Psalm 1:3

Are you in a season of pregnancy, missing the days where you could see your toes? Embrace that rounded belly and praise God for your sweet miracle. Are you in a season of motherhood, wondering if you’ll ever have another moment of rest or privacy? Embrace the exhaustion that comes from a long day of loving hard, knowing these moments won’t last long and soon you will be wondering where the time has gone.