Hard, but Good

“for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.”

The Song of Solomon 2:11-13

 

I love the moment that you know spring has finally arrived. Something in the atmosphere shifts – the birds are little bit louder, the sun is a little bit brighter, the air is a little bit lighter. Then you start to see it – the flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing, and life begins to happen all around you. Winter is over. Spring has come.

 

 

I don’t think it’s any secret that God likes to talk about seasons. There are so many passages involving seasons in scripture.

 

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1

“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

Genesis 8:22

“He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.”

Psalms 104:19

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

Isaiah 55:10-11

 

I could go on. And there are even more passages and metaphors about the harvest.

 

 

The passing of seasons is integral to bearing fruit and a good harvest. In winter, things have to die. Spring brings life and the promise that the seeds we so diligently sow will only bring more. In summer we wait – we grow and strengthen. And then comes the promised harvest. Every season has its time. Every season has its purpose.

 

The Lord and I have been talking a lot about seasons. I’m walking out of a season that’s lasted for over two years – a season made up mostly of summers and winters, with very little life and harvest. Growing. Waiting. Letting things die. It’s been a hard season.

However, the Lord is faithful and my winter is finally transitioning to spring. I can feel the change in the air – and I will soon see the fruit of the things I have walked through.

Again, the transition is difficult. God is teaching me how to do it well. But it’s still different. It’s still difficult.

As part of my trip to Guatemala, I was able to spend a few days with the women of Gap I squad (the squad I mobilized last year) as they moved from Africa to Central America – out of a very difficult season and into a new one full of hope and expectancy. When I was asking the Lord what to speak with them about, He reminded me that I teach best from experience, and right now my experience is a transition of seasons. In my preparation, I once again continued processing the last few seasons I have walked through. I found myself reflecting on how to grieve and celebrate, let go of old things to make room for new, and pray into a new season with expectancy. I will always have more to learn, it seems.

 

I have also had the opportunity to just sit and talk and catch up with the women of Gap I squad, and they’ve all been asking “How has life been since training camp !”

And the answer to that question has been summed up in three words.

“Hard, but good.”

That’s been my answer a lot recently. 2016 was hard, but good. 26 was hard but good.

When the Lord had me step into this new season, I thought “Finally – the hard is over.”

But this morning, I had a sobering thought. I believed that “hard, but good” was seasonal – that it would pass. But as I look over the last few years, not just months, I’ve realized that “hard, but good” has been true for a while.

Leading this Parent Vision Trip is hard, but good.

This last season was hard, but good.

Walking away from that relationship was hard, but good.

Losing my mom was hard, but good. (If that seems heartless, then you probably haven’t had a loved one with a terminal and debilitating disease. And it’s okay if you think that.)

Moving to Georgia was hard, but good.

Taking care of mom for 6 months was hard, but good.

The World Race was hard, but good.

Teaching was hard, but good.

I could keep going.

 

Life is hard.

Don’t get me wrong – there is immense joy and laughter and light and life and hope. But that all comes from the good.

 

Life is hard. Living in the flesh is hard.

 

But God is good.

 

So immensely and immeasurably good.

 

 

I walk out of these past seasons knowing that truth in a way I have never reckoned it before. I think there are some things you go through where that knowledge becomes an unshakeable foundation. I’ve found that.

Maybe it seems depressing that I know at the end of my life I’ll probably say “That was hard, but good.” Maybe it seems that I’ve given up hope. But to me it feels like I’ve found it. In accepting the truth of the difficulty, I can accept the gift of the good. I can more fully appreciate just how good God is. I can operate out of his strength instead of my own. I can walk the path of grace, forgiveness, humility, and trust.

 

Life is hard, but God is good.

Hard, but good.