Times and Seasons

It seems many people are going through a very difficult season these days. Whether from financial difficulties, stressed relationships, or poor health; the sources are endless; the need for a change of season epidemic. Too many are suffering in a winter of discontent. Do we just endure the long winter or can we change the season. If I can take liberty with Shakespeare..."Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of [God]"... Through Christ our winter is made a glorious summer. The presence of the Lord will bring us times of refreshing in the midst of our drought.  

"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord," (Acts 3:19) 

To change our season we need to repent and be converted so that our sins may be blotted out that a new season "may "[is allowed] come. To repent means "to change one's mind" (Webster.) If we change our mind...the Lord will change your season. He will change the winter of our discontent into glorious summer. When we change our mind...our thinking... we don't change the winter...we change the discontent!  Daniel 2:21 says God can "change times and seasons." If you don't like the season you are in... change it.

I have just gone through a particularly difficult season. As many of you know I have a constant battle with my health. It was getting difficult to deal with my basic needs and my doctor had just given approval for me to get home health care. Needless to say I didn't have a lot of strength. Then the most bizarre thing happened. I "accidentally" took the wrong medication and fell asleep during the afternoon. When I woke up my entire apartment was flooded. At first we thought the drain had clogged and the neighbors washer had drained into my apartment, but somehow my washing machine had turned itself on and overflowed. All I could do was cry, because I didn't have the strength to even pick anything up.

Praise God The housing authority came and cleaned the mess and moved what wasn't ruined to an apartment across the street. I still had a lot of stuff on the floor and spent a day trying to wash some of the things that had gotten flooded. I used the washer all day and didn't have any problem. Then the next night it happened again. Somehow my washing machine had turned itself on and overflowed again! Now, I am thinking something supernatural is going on. Is God wanting me to move or the devil harassing me?

My daughter has been wanting me to move back to Indiana for sometime. She had applied at a HUD apartment complex and I had been on the waiting list. I was thinking maybe I would return to Indiana in the Spring. I was not too crazy about going through Indiana winters. I love the Texas weather, but after going through the flood I realized it is not good for me to be there all alone with no family to help. My Senior Life Team Leader, has done a lot to help, but I didn't want to keep being a burden to her. She had just brought me over a freezer full of food and supplies because my refrigerator a few weeks earlier had went out and spoiled all my food.

So, I am over at my new apartment, overwhelmed with furniture and boxes everywhere, trying to get my services turned on. I hadn't started cleaning the cabinets because it took a while to get the gas turned on for hot water. Then maintenance came in with a new stove and when he moved out the old stove the entire side of the cabinet was covered in thick green mold. Then I started opening the cabinets and realized they all were covered with this green webby creepy mold. My lungs became extremely irritated and I could not stop coughing. All I could do was cry out to the Lord.

I didn't even have the strength to take care of my basic needs, how was I going to deal with all of this. I was sitting with my cell phone in my hand, praying how am I going to deal with all of this, when the phone rang. It was the Indiana apartment complex. She said " I know you wanted to wait until the spring to move, but I have an opening in November and wondered if you might me interested." All I could say was this is God. I called my daughter and of course she said I needed to get out of that apartment immediately.

She called my sons and in a matter of days they drove from Indiana, packed my things in 4 hours, and drove straight back. Thank God they are young and strong. I moved out Oct 22 and was only able to take the few things that would fit in a small truck and car. I gave my neighbor a lot of my stuff and in return she made sure everything got cleaned out, so it all worked out. I spent a few weeks with my daughter and am now in my new apartment. It is bigger, nicer, and mold free! It has taken a while, but I am starting to get back on my feet. I only have a few more boxes to go through.

Praise God for a change in my season! I am living comfortably in my new apartment and just spent Thanksgiving with all my children. When you change your thinking from despair to rejoicing...you can change your season from winter to summer. We still have financial difficulties, stressed relationships, or poor health, but through Christ we can change our mourning into dancing. Through Christ we can choose to be joyful and content in the Lord. For…the joy of the Lord is my strength. We can change the winter of our discontent into a summer of rejoicing.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." (James 1:2)