Don’t Waste Your Season

This was one of the little girls I met while in Guatemala and even though we couldn’t talk to each other (because I don’t speak Spanish) I was still able to show her Christ’s love!

You know those songs that just sound like they belong in a movie? As you watch the characters go about their lives smiling and laughing, they go on an adventure and good things start to happen, there’s always a song playing. Lately I’ve been feeling like my life is in that section of the movie and the song, The Great Adventure (25th Anniversary Edition) by Steven Curtis Chapman is playing in the background.

“Saddle up your horses/We’ve got a trail to blaze/Through the wild blue yonder of God’s Amazing grace/Let’s follow our leader into the Glorious unknown/This is the life like no other /This is the great adventure”

All throughout 2019, God has been teaching me that life is an adventure. It’s often an unknown adventure but He is always in the lead directing it so I know it will be ok. I know the final destination is eternity with Him, but I have no idea what my journey will look like until I get there. What I do, where I do it, and when it happens are not up to me to decide. I just have to choose to trust and follow where He has me in each season.

Which brings me to the title of this post: Don’t Waste Your Season. Right where I am is not an accident, God brought me here on purpose and I don’t want to waste this time impatiently hoping for the next to come. So often, we aren’t grateful for what we have in life and we’re never content.

My season right now is one of freedom and adventure. I’m young, 22 and full of energy; I’m not tied down, single and not working a full time job; and I’m surrounded by blessings. This combination is an opportunity for adventure.

So many people my age are wasting their youth on pointless activities that get them absolutely nowhere in life. Things like partying, Netflix binges, and video games. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good Netflix marathon… but not all the time. There is health, energy, and opportunity to be found in a 22 year old that just isn’t there when you’re 52!! SO USE IT WHILE YOU HAVE IT! In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he says “Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12) Timothy was young when he started ministry with Paul, probably younger than me, and he can be a great example to us.

Another big part of my current season is that I’m single, and I don’t think of this as a bad thing. Is it kinda lonely and frustrating? Are there days when I wish I wasn’t? Yes absolutely! But that doesn’t mean I’m so desperate for a relationship that I can’t see the blessings and gifts that come in singleness. This time is a gift meant for undivided attention to the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:32–35) Because I’m not worrying about a boyfriend and trying to spend so much time with him, I’m free to invest in other relationships. I can put lots of time into my friends and family and especially into God. As I wrote in my last post, Jesus has become my very best and closest friend in 2019 and I don’t know if that would be true if I hadn’t been single. (Now boys pay attention, this does not mean I’m opposed to a boyfriend if the right guy comes along ;) It just means I’m making the most of my singleness and embracing this season while it’s here) I learned a lot about embracing this season by doing a course by Stephanie May Wilson called Love Your Single Life (I highly recommend this resource if your single and wasting your season. Also the book Not Yet Married by Marshall Segal is really good too)

Now about my lack of a full time job…this is a long story and was the main reason I decided to write this post. The very condensed version is that towards the end of my student teaching in the spring, I lost all my desire to teach full time (which had been my plan since I was 7!) I had burned out and was so full of anxiety I knew that pursuing full time would have been plain stupid. (for more the this story, read my posts from March-August) Looking back on all that now, I can see where there was good in this situation and I’ve learned a lot through it, but that didn’t make it any easier. I decided I would work as a substitute for the year but I’ve only recently started doing it. As I slowed life down, I learned how to rest in Jesus and take time for things that truly matter. I learned things about myself that I had never known before and I became aware of the Spiritual battles going on around me. I learned how to be vigilant, prepared, and disciplined in so many areas of life. I finally started to find my balance again.

People look at me and think I’m a bum, or lazy, or unmotivated because I’m not working all the time, but I can assure you that’s not the case. There is so much more to life than just working and earning money all the time. There are things that mean more and have a much greater impact than money does. Yes, I still need money for things so I still have to work, but that’s not the focus of my life. (If you’re wondering, yes I do sorta have a long term plan going forward, but you know what they say, man plans and God laughs, so we’ll see what happens)

If you know me, you know I love serving and volunteering. I counted it up this week and realized that in 2019 alone I’ve volunteered over 10 weeks of my time at camp, the Ephrata Fair, Guatemala, and various other places. THAT’S MORE THAN 2 MONTHS! (I include camp in there because I originally signed up as a volunteer for 6 weeks, it was only after I was committed that some things changed and they were able to pay me.) If I was focused on earning a ton of money, all those ministries and organizations would have missed out.

I am very aware of the blessings and gifts I’ve been given in life and I know that not everyone has the opportunities that I do. This motivates me more though, not to waste this season and these opportunities, but to go for it and use them.

Because I chose to not waste my season and took the opportunity to go and serve, this family was blessed. They surprised me by not only saying thank you, but giving me a gift in return. It is only by stepping into the adventure that we can learn what all it holds.

I’m sure many of you know this already, but I love to travel and I’ve been using this season to travel a TON! In fact, I just got back from a mission trip to Guatemala a few days ago and it was incredible! I’m so grateful that when I was presented with the opportunity to go, that I took it. We had shirts that said Go. Serve. Love. My season is about taking opportunities to go wherever God calls, serve however I can, and love as much as I can.

So whatever season you may be in right now, maybe you’re working a ton so that you can afford to Go in the future. Maybe you’re engaged or newly married and figuring out and preparing for when you can Serve together. Maybe you’re just living life right where you’re at and spreading God’s Love. I don’t know what your current season is, but I do know that it’s an adventure not meant to be wasted. So…

Saddle up your horses/We’ve got a trail to blaze/Through the wild blue yonder of God’s Amazing grace/Let’s follow our leader into the Glorious unknown/This is the life like no other /This is the great adventure