Rock Your Season Kelly Elliott Seasonal stress. We’ve all been there. And I’m not just talking about preparing for Thanksgiving dinner or finding the perfect Christmas gift. I’m talking about the onset of stress that accompanies being stuck in a certain season of life. You know what I mean … we’ve all seen someone walking their God-given path and thought, “Wow, that’s awesome. I wish I was doing that.” Then we proceed to try and get where that person is. In the process, we get frustrated because we’re trying to get out of the season God has us in to go where we want to go.
to accept those limitations instead of fighting against them; it’s quite freeing. It takes the extra pressure off of trying to have it all in the same season. Instead, keep sight of the blessings found in your season—some of them might not be around forever. Don’t let challenges and limitations eclipse the precious things God has for you in your season.
Find God’s Purpose What does God want to do in your life right now? You might not think there’s a purpose for your season, but I’d encourage you to pray and ask Him about it. There’s a reason you are where you are! There’s something God wants to accomplish in you during this season. Once you realize that, you’ll be able to walk through the challenging times with grace, knowing God has a plan!
A lot of our frustration about this boils down to the fact that we don’t understand the season we’re in. We want to have everything in every season, but God didn’t set life up that way. He doesn’t give us all the blessings or all the challenges in one season; He spreads them out. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Flip that around, and it says, “There is a season for everything, and a purpose for every time.” That puts it in perspective a little, doesn’t it? If we want to break free from seasonal stress, we need to look at our lives from God’s perspective. But how do we do that? Here are some tips I’ve found to be helpful during times of seasonal stress.
Rock Your Season God gives you grace to walk through and emerge victorious in every season of life. It’s when we stray from where God has called us and start trying to do what others are doing, that we end up overburdened and stressed out. Matthew 11:30 says, “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” When we stick with His yoke and His purpose, we can see our season with greater clarity and begin to rock it! I encourage you to clearly identify your season, find God’s purpose in it, and then stay within the parameters of His grace. You’ll begin to find a rhythm and ease of life. Remember that saying “yes” to God’s plan and purpose means saying “no” to many other things. If everyone seems like they’re in a different season than you, don’t worry about it. You’re about to rock the season God has planned for you!
Identify Your Season You can easily categorize your general life season—youth, college-aged, single, married, mom, empty nester. But within those categories are many individual seasons like getting a new job, buying a house, getting pregnant, raising toddlers, discipling teens, and caring for elderly parents. Each of these seasons comes with its own set of limitations. Maybe you have to cut your budget or don’t have as much free time. I think the key is
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