The back yard looks like a place where toy cars come to die.
Fall in all its beauty is dying too.
I sit outside with the baby girl in her socks and me in the sneakers that aren’t quite on properly because we rushed outside to try and catch some of the late afternoon light before it tick tocked away.
I haven’t always lived in a place that had seasons. Every time they change I catch my breath again at the unexpectedness of it. And how refreshing it is.
How strange it is to begin to welcome it – change – as a constant. Something reliable; something to count on.
How is it that a child’s John Deere Tractor can almost smell of sunshine?
The grass and leaves help me remember to breathe in and out and in again in a rhythm that reminds me I am alive and that breathing shouldn’t be taken for granted.
There’s a child’s bucket and a long forgotten garden hose and the damp of this pathway on a November afternoon.
And there are days when I ask God if he sees the upside down of my life. I ask Him straight out why He would give me things that seem impossible to balance. Work and children. Children and work. Marriage, tiny rental house, family scattered the globe over.
I tell Him I want easy and that I’m tired of tired.
And then He brings me out here to show me what He made.
That He gives me seasons.
And I can trust Him with change.
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I needed this little word today…thank you :)
I hate change. And just last night I was thinking that this is the 3rd country and 4th house in the last 6 years. sigh
Thanks for your words today. Seasons are good. As is change. As is God. As is that cute little smiley baby of yours. :)
“i can trust him with change” i love that! i wrote about this season today too. and i am anticipating some pretty major changes in the next few weeks. thank you for pointing out what i didn’t completely see yesterday as i was breathing in all that He has made:)
“That He gives me seasons. And I can trust Him with change.” — Amen to that! You always brighten my day Lisa-Jo…maybe you struggle with balancing it all (you have much to balance!) but you do an incredible job of uplifting others so somethings working right! : ) God’s obviously doing a beautiful work through you, the you of right now with all the challenges you face.
Thank you, Linda. :)
Beautiful. I try to fall in love with God’s creation at least once a day and the beauty of autumn has been an inspiration the last couple days.
Wow. Just wow. Exactly what I needed-a word from the Lord.
love, love, love this! trying so hard to trust Him with so many changes this day. thank you for sharing your heart.
steph
I love that you are trusting the change and find it a gift and relief. I am in a time of change that has lasted 3 physical seasons now, and is still evolving round me and it has rocked my world. Not a relief for me and most days I’m longing for stability and knowledge that all is well and will be well. But what I’ve found is God is stretching me to my limit and beyond. My faith is stronger and deeper and it has to be, because I don’t see what’s coming next anymore! Relief!!!! I will cling to that drop of wisdom today and praise the Lord for change, because He works all things for good. I’ll leave my material idols of comfort behind and go out in to His creation and praise. Thank you for the uplifting words Lisa-Jo!
Aren’t the colors beautiful? This is my favorite time of the year. I just recently heard that when the leaves die and change colors, what is really happening is that the chlorophyll is being drained from the leaves, leaving the beautiful colors that have been hidden within. Isn’t that a beautiful picture of how God changes us? He strips away what is hiding our true selves, and the beauty within is revealed. So glorious!
Oh wow, Jenny. I didn’t know that. What a great image – I’ll hold onto that one.
Ooooh I love that too!
Thank you Jenny for the reminder that even though the stripping may sometimes hurt, God has a redemptive purpose: to reveal beauty.
Encouraging…thank you! And thanks Lisa-Jo for sharing your heart.
Beautiful post and cutie little one.
I have discovered that God keeps me in the unsure places of life so I have to depend on Him.
Absolutely beautiful. Thank you for your words!
Lisa Jo,
Beautifully true and thought provokingly real…
I have learned to trust Him through every season. And while trusting Him I am blooming where I am planted now….
Abundant Blessings,
Joan
that He gives me seasons and I can trust Him with change <3
precious words… deep truth
Enjoy Him through the seasons…
I type one-handed, holding my 3-week old in one arm… so scared to return to work in just 3 weeks, of balancing life with 2 kids and a full-time job and housework and everything else. I so needed this reminder. Yes, I can trust him as the seasons change. thank you.
Oh hang in there – yes it’s hard and beautiful all at the same time. And some nights you cry from the wonder of it all and some nights just from the tired. But you can do it. You grew two human beings – you can do this. I promise.
The literal changing of seasons means a lot to me personally and spiritually, which is probably why moving from Oregon to Texas four years ago has been so difficult. There are really NO seasons here, and instead of (as you say) breathing it in and out, I find myself holding my breath because everything outside of myself stays the same, is on permanent pause. It’s tough. But it has also forced me to find the Spirit in places I hadn’t looked before, and that’s been a good thing.
I want to comment on what you said: “And there are days when I ask God if he sees the upside down of my life.” My husband works out of state M-F and I’m on my own with our 5 kids every week (in addition to my own work, etc). My life feels ABSOLUTELY upside-down. And sometimes I find myself saying “Do you see this?” to God, which I admit often translates into “Do you know what you’re doing?” I want to thank you for sharing that you, as a woman of great faith and a person I admire, sometimes have those struggles, too. And I want to thank you for sharing the ways you come out of those moments and continue to see God’s hand in your life. That’s a great help to me.
Oh Stacey, not just sometimes! I ask God a lot in this season of work that I love and kids that I love how on earth I’m supposed to balance them both and somehow figure out a way to fit in the laundry. And funny, I said almost the exact same thing to Him the other day, “Do you see this?” and I’m certain I heard Him say right back, “Yes, I gave it to you.” So if He believes I can balance it, well, I’m learning to lean into that and trust Him with the chaos. Hang in there – five kids? Well, that’s a lot a lot a lot of work to be managing by yourself. And God must know you’ve got the goods if He trusted you with it :)
Oh my goodness. Thank you for sharing this. And thanks, Stacey, for leading me to this blog! I’m in a place of uncertainty where I don’t sense God leading me anywhere. It’s hard to just WAIT for God to show me what the next step is. In the past, I’ve often acted just to DO something, but moving ahead of God has proven not good (at best) and disastrous (at worst). And so I wait.
How refreshing! He often reminds me that nothing stays the same forever…and it’s the seasons of change that get me to remember and trust.
(that pic of your little girl…the texture is so wonderful!)
And the runny nose? And the scratches from her too long nails? :) Yes, I love how real it is too.
Thank you. I needed this reminder. Great is His Faithfulness!
“There are days when I ask God if he sees the upside down of my life.” My sentiments exactly. Thank you for reminding me that, just like these changing (dying) leaves, vibrant beauty can only come from the little deaths I die to myself every day in this season.
Thank you. I needed this.
I, too, am loving living in real weather seasons these days.
But it’s harder to embrace the ever-changing, ever-imbalanced seasons of life…
Thank you for the words of encouragement.
“I tell Him I want easy and that I’m tired of tired.”
I’ve been trying to write this line all week, and there you went and did it far better than I ever could.
Beautiful!!!
I agree! Beautiful!
What would I do without seasons changing, and without upside-downess that comes from having 5 kids of my own? I’d probably be complaining about how boring my life is, how unfulfilled I am. I’d be begging God for crazy days…
I love this. My life this past year has been so full of change, and some days I embrace it, but other days I’m definitely “tired of tired.” Following an expected path for my life was one thing, but trying to figure out how to live my real beliefs and dreams in a way that lets me work to serve God and still actually have the time and space to savor the home and family and life I love is a great big unsettling and blessed challenge.
I loved yesterday and today Lisa-Jo…I just wanted to hug you and say thank you for serving us all so well who come to eat at your table:} I especially loved this:
‘And there are days when I ask God if he sees the upside down of my life. I ask Him straight out why He would give me things that seem impossible to balance. Work and children. Children and work. Marriage, tiny rental house, family scattered the globe over.’
And that it’s His Beauty that re-directs and focuses and heals:}
I am a recent subscriber and I really enjoy your blog, it speaks to me. I have been having a rough time for many years now, but I do believe God has a plan for me and this is just the season I am in now.
I love the idea of consistent, beautiful, refreshing reliability…in the ever-present changing of the seasons.
Thanks for that!
This part really struck me Lisa-Jo…thank you for writing it
“The grass and leaves help me remember to breathe in and out and in again in a rhythm that reminds me I am alive and that breathing shouldn’t be taken for granted.”
Refreshing to my soul.
Amen to that!
And Blessings from a some what overcast South Africa.
“That he gives me seasons and I can trust him with change.”
Love the lessons we can glean from the beauty of nature… especially this one that reflects on experiencing the tension of change in life… thanks for this!
A thousand LOVES for this post, friend. It ministers to my tired heart somethin’ fierce.
xoxo