We got snow on Halloween this year.
I am always fascinated when this happens, this merging of my two favorite seasons, even though it happens quite often here in Indiana. I have so many pictures on my phone and camera of pumpkins in the snow, fallen leaves heavy with snow, mums covered in snow, trees half covered with a wintery mix while their beautiful autumn colors still peek through the cold, my children trick or treating with multiple layers under their costumes, making tracks in the snow as they travel from house to house collecting sweet treats.
This beautiful phenomenon makes me so thankful when life happens just one season at a time. Our laundry soap we want two for the price of one but not the seasons of our lives. Even less when these seasons aren’t our favorite ones on life’s journey.
Imagine having a new baby, with all the stress and exhilaration this sweet little brings, and then suddenly losing someone very close to you.
Or
The incredibly busy and trying season of raising and attempting to guide teenagers (sometimes more than one at a time; the two for one headache special!) but then having the new task of caring for your aging parents or Heaven forbid, the loss of a parent or close family member.
My analogies will all have to do with family of course because that’s my reality right now and has been for 16 years already but please take a moment and imagine with me what were to happen if an already tough season in life tried to merge itself with yet another tough season; life interrupted during an already messy time.
Now, as you know if you’ve been following me long, I’ve been reading and studying through the Old Testament lately (slowly but surely, lol) so of course as I ponder this Ruth and Naomi come to mind.
Not only were they grieving the loss of the men in their lives they were also facing certain poverty and possibly death. Without husbands they were now destined to become beggars just to survive. How tragic an ending this would have been for these faithful women. Thankfully God did not leave them there. He already had a plan to redeem her, not only to save their lives but to bring King David through Ruth and influence hundreds of generations with their story through His word.
With Thanksgiving and then Christmas right around the corner please consider those in your reach who may be struggling with not one but maybe two tough seasons in life at once. Because if there’s one thing we don’t want 2 for the price of 1, it’s tough seasons, but with love and support life is always redeemable. Remember to show someone God’s redeeming power this holiday season.
God bless,
Katie