Life Well Inspired

BeDifferent

We live in the middle of the woods and absolutely love the privacy it provides for most of the year.  But all to soon comes fall and our privacy turns all sorts of brilliant colors and then is gone for the winter.  Suffice to say we love it when the trees leaf back out again in May!

But every year, there’s this one tree that turns all sorts of brilliant colors a few weeks before the rest.  Right now, amongst the deep green stands this absolute beauty.  This year, I remembered that it did this last year, too.  It turned its colors seemingly to signal the change that was coming, telling us that fall was close at hand.

What struck me this time around though was that sometimes we are so scared to be different.  Scared to stand up for what we like, how we feel, or our beliefs as if being different is a bad thing.  But sometimes, like my tree, being different can be the start of a change.  Standing up for ourselves and/or our faith can be something that ushers in much needed change in our lives.  Here in western NY, we need the change of the seasons for the health of our soil and to keep our climate in balance.  In our hearts we need change to achieve rest, healing and rejuvenation.

Seeing that little tree this year gave me some extra courage.  It made me excited to see the rest of fall’s brilliance emerge and created anticipation for winter’s rest.

Lately I have been wrestling with just what I am to be doing now that I have 7 whole hours free (!) while my guys are in school.  It feels like I am in a fall type of season getting ready to enter a winter.  But in a good way.  See, the road with Big Bro as a mom of 2 has pushed me right past my max.  I have spent plenty of time relying on God’s strength.  He didn’t give me more than I could handle with his help.  But as both boys go off to school this year I am excited to finally have some rest.  Now, not quite the kind of sit-on-the-couch-all-day kind of rest, because I can’t sit still for very long, but I am finding it is restful to be able to actually spend time with God, operate in a task-oriented style during the day, completing tasks and have time at the end of the day to spend with hubby.

I am reminded of Ecclesiastes 3: 1:

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

There are literal seasons and then periods of time that vary due to circumstance.  For me, this school year signifies a changing of  the seasons for sure as a new phase of life is entered in our home.  I am going to take the new-found time to regroup, do what I love to do- blogging, playing with flowers and gardening- for fun rather than for any specific purpose, learn more about who I have become as I walked through my refining fire and dare to be different.

Do you sense a season change coming?  Will you dare to be different, too?

I'd love to know your thoughts!

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