Let's be honest...life is filled with lots of different types of seasons. And not all of the seasons are easy or enjoyable.
In fact, Ecclesiastes 3 talks quite a bit about the different seasons...
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build up,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace..."
While some might go into a deep dive into what each phrase might mean and try to nail down what season of life is the appropriate time for each of these phrases, I tend to think, (like some others), that we should just take it for face value.
Each of these are things that we will experience in this life.
It's not really a question of "is the appropriate time for such things to take place?", but more of a statement that God knows that we will face these times.
Maybe it's just me, but I think God specifically wanted to give us a better view of life when this part of scripture was penned. To be reminded of the fact that it's ok to rest for a moment in whatever season we may be finding ourselves. That we don't have to rush through it or feel guilty about it or push it aside. But that we can sit for a moment in each of these seasons and know that above all of it is the God who sees and the God who cares. To be reminded that each of these times is just a season...a part of a bigger story.
So often when we go through challenging times, we can easily become overwhelmed with discouragement and not see that it is just part of the story...that God is working in the midst of that bad to bring about good. And so often we can forget that we have been adopted and redeemed by the God of hope who generously gives joy and peace. These are the moments when we must remind ourselves of truth and the moments that we most need others in our lives to be speaking those truths to us.
In this life there will be times of joy and times of pain, times of celebrating and times of waiting. In the midst of both, it's a good thing to recognize the season we find ourselves in...to acknowledge those moments under heaven and to look to the Lord. Rejoice as you should in the good gifts He gives. Take time to grieve the things that rightly deserve to be grieved.
Know that whatever season you find yourself in, whether it be a joyous one or a challenging one, there is hope, joy, and peace to be found in the one who created you.
And that is one thing that will never change.