Seasons

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven....
Ecclesiastes 3:1

In a few weeks we'll be going into a new season and one of my favorites at that. I love Spring because to me it represents renewal, the plants and trees growing and blooming once again after winters brutal cold.  I love Fall because the leaves changing just before they make the last journey to the ground as the trees prepare to rest is almost a reminder that, well for everything there is a season and remember these beautiful colors during those days when it may not be the most beautiful of days. Life is like that. We all have seasons, I daresay you are in one right now. Some seasons are like your favorite season of weather and some are like your least favorite (winter for me) and those seasons seem like they'll never end don't they. I've been thinking a lot lately about seasons and what season I am in now. I recently was fortunate enough to go to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. At a park I was walking by myself and as I was leaving this little boy about five or six and his little sister began running just ahead of their parents into the park. The little boy saw me, stopped and looked at me quite concerned and said, " You shouldn't be walking by yourself." I smiled and said, "No, I shouldn't, should I?" I thought about that and at first was like I totally just got in trouble by a kid and he was right I shouldn't walk in certain places by myself. I think he is onto something else. I am the worst at trying to walk this ride called life by myself. I'll be thee to help you out any time any day but to let others in to help me with my walk, the struggle is real. But that little boy reminded me one shouldn't walk this ride called life by yourself. We all have seasons, those we need to have someone help us carry these burdens, help us stay on the path and just know we're not alone. Than we have seasons we will do those things for someone else. I think I'm finally getting that, or I'm trying more than I ever have to get it and apply it to my life. I've always thought everyone in your life and even the strangers you pass are put in your path for a reason. As Tyler Perry put it some are leaves, some branches and some are roots but all serve a purpose. The season I'm in now I've been in to some degree for way to long. However, just like in a few weeks it will be a new season, Idon't know when it will happen but I'm about to enter a new season in my life. You know how a window will fog up sometimes and you know what is outside but you can't see the clear picture due to the foggy window. Sometimes life has felt like that to me and I've often forgot all I had to do was wipe away the fog and I could see clearly. And that is why we need to not walk alone because sometimes we forget, sometimes we just don't have the strength and sometimes we just need the company whether we know it or not. So whatever season you are in or about to enter into I hope you remember to not walk alone and you have some roots kind of people in your life to walk with you. I have my hoodies ready and waiting to wear in the fall and my camera ready as we get closer and closer to fall and I have my head held up  thankful for the people that have been placed in my life to help make sure I don't walk by myself as I'm about to enter a new season in my life.

Vines

If I kept a count of my random thoughts I wonder which number this one would be? Probably one I would get tired of saying before I finished the ridiculously astronomical number. Earlier I got thinking about thoughts and how amazing it is that what seemingly is nothing but a simple thought can help or hinder you. Where I live there is this vine, not a clue what it is called, but it is a pain. It is nearly impossible to get rid of and just when you think you have here it comes back again. It was at this point in my thinking I had the light bulb come on and well here I am writing what I saw when the light came on. This particular writing is going to focus on the thoughts that hinder, mostly anyway. I'm going to assume it's safe to say we all have our times where we battle thoughts that hinder us, that take us to a place that isn't good for us, and/or we have fears and doubts that we face. Perhaps you're like me and sometimes have battles with all three, most of the time they all three gang up on me and I feel outnumbered and overwhelmed in the fight. Those thoughts, fears and doubts all to often become like that vine. See that vine didn't really serve a purpose but to take up room and prevent anything else from growing in its place. Growing up on occasion I would see a spot where these vines had taken over and decide I was going to pull up the vine so maybe something else could grow there. At least once while doing this there would be some pieces of the vine that I could pull up and remove with ease and there was some I just wasn't strong enough to pull even though I put every ounce of strength I had in me at the time. Usually it started out the big pieces were really easy to get rid of and I thought oh this is going to be easy I'll get this taken care of and rid of in no time. I was wrong. Once I got the big pieces out of the way I had to try to get rid of the smaller pieces. Those were more difficult to get a grasp on, more difficult to get much pulled up besides what was on the surface. Some of the vines I just couldn't make any progress on without help. Did I mention the blisters I got from trying to get rid of these vines? I think thoughts, fears and doubts can be like those vines. Some can be easy to face and vanquish. Some you really got to fight to get a good grip on and use every ounce of strength to conquer. There are those doubts and fears you may have carried for years, maybe your whole life, I think those are like those little pieces of vines. It can be those pieces that you not only have to sit down and take your time at even being able to get a hold of but those are sometimes the ones you need help with getting rid of them and not just on the surface but destroying the roots from which the lies grow. Just like those vines would look like they were gone and I would think they had been overthrown sometimes they would come back as do the thoughts, fears and doubts of life. This can be discouraging, I daresay even overwhelming even. Don't let it be water to the lies of those thoughts, doubts and fears so that you think you'll never beat these things but instead hopefully you can see it as it doesn't have the hold on you that it once did and every bit you pull up, every time you face those fears and doubts and every time you conquer that thought you have pulled a bit more of the root and ultimately you will overcome this vine or battle. I recently had a really, really, I mean absolutely terrible day. It was one of those I'm still not sure if it was a panic attack, breakdown or both, I'm leaning towards both because well I'll just say I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Because I couldn't breathe among other things I ended up messaging someone to ask if they would pray for me. To be honest I felt stupid about it after I did so (I tend to do that any time I open up, not sure why). Anyway the other day they asked how I was I said okay (again who ever answers that question honestly) and I said I felt stupid for saying that and I shouldn't have bothered her and she said something along the lines of it's only bad not to ask or talk. I guess I'm slowly learning that but Lord have mercy it's difficult for me to do so. I leave you with this when you go to pull those vines of hindering thoughts, fears and doubts make sure you have a good pair of gloves and as much as those thoughts, fears and doubts may try to convince you not to it is okay to ask for help. And it doesn't matter how long it takes you to get the vines destroyed just because others may say you aren't making as much or quick of a progress as they did. Please always remember you aren't going to run the race at the same pace or with the same abilities as others and that is great because you have something that will help someone just like you'll meet others that will help you. I think that's what often makes this life bearable.