STAND FIRM

Stand firm. It's not about what's next this season. New doors, new experiences, new people and a new self may come, but I am not seeking new and I am not seeking more. I'm keeping two feet firmly planted on the ground and standing firm - ready, waiting, and prepared. The ground may be hard, but I'm digging deep with dirt covered boots, grit between my finger tips and my hair blowing in the wind. 

This season is mastering what has already been given. I am a mother, a wife, a friend, a business owner and an artist with other roles occasionally thrown in. That's plenty. More is not what my soul needs or seeks. It's just learning how to grow taller from what has already been planted.

Patient, steadfast, strong, reliable - these are adjectives that I want people to say when they describe me, but often I am described as go-getter, strategic, goal-oriented. Those latter adjectives have one thing in common - they are always moving forward. But, I am tired of moving right now, and God knows it. So, for now, I am called to stay firmly planted, and to become a master will be more of a challenge for me than anything I have ever done.

These past couple of days I have been contemplating the commonly quoted passage of Ecclesiastes 3:

“There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.”

The past three years have been a season of being uprooted, mourning, throwing away, and tearing down. But now I'm being ushered into a season of planting, building back up, gathering, searching, keeping and mending. What season are you in right now? Do any of these phrases speak to you? I'd love to hear, and I would love to hear your word or phrase for the year too. 

Photos by Rennai Hoefer