What season Are You In?

It's Thanksgiving. A time when most people rewind the year and think back to all the things they are thankful for. (At least that is what one SHOULD be doing)...Phillipians 4:11 tells us to "be content no matter WHAT our circumstances are."

When you think of "waiting" how do you feel? Does it bring past feelings to the surface? With me it does... I've learned especially with having been diagnosed with breast cancer this year, that "waiting" can be a luxury that not all of us have. If I was in impatient before - I'm even more so now. And I can't "wait" anymore. Because sometimes that is all people do. They "wait." We take "now" for granted. What if what you want most isn't there tomorrow? How will you feel? Like you missed out.  You waited until it was too late. I think that is when "regrets" come in to place. "I shoulda, woulda, coulda - but I didn't..."

God made us with the natural desire to "live forever" its something that has been instilled within us since our days in the Garden of Eden. But with the fall of man - came death. Something that none of us like to focus on. Instead we plan for "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and the next day..." As if it is a given that it will occur. We are NOT promised tomorrow. Yet still we blindly believe that tomorrow is owed to us. When something happens to someone we love, or to us - we begin to realize how very precious life is. The Bible tells us "Our lives are but breaths"

I don't know about you - but patience is not one of my gifts. Never has been, never will be. And after being a Christian for 23 years - I learned quickly NOT to pray for patience. Big mistake - huge! (Laughing). To pray for patience means that you are asking for more trials and tribulations than you already have - why? So that you can learn to be "patient" through it all. Its not as though we won't go through things anyways... I figure if I have to have a shot - give it to me quickly! Don't prolong it! (See? I told ya I'm not patient... ;) )

When you go through a life threatening disease - you become, "less patient" than perhaps you were before. Time is precious. If waiting was hard before you were diagnosed - it becomes even harder now. You want to love more deeply. Waiting becomes a harder concept to accept. All of a sudden you feel as though there is this timer and you don't know what point you are on the timeline your life... And I suppose its a good thing too. The Bible also tells us that "We see in part, but He sees in full." I think that is because we couldn't "handle" seeing the fullness of our lives. Personally, I think it is God's grace that He gives us increments if indeed He chooses to show us at all.

We've all heard the saying, "Good things come to those that wait." And maybe in some aspects that is true. We live in such a microwave society that we want what we want, when we want it! But on the other hand - one of the lessons I have learned this year, is that I do not have it in me to settle. So many of us "settle for mediocure" because we feel that is all we deserve. That is all we should have. That is one club that I am no longer a member of - I gave back my membership card loooong ago. So let me ask YOU this. What are YOU waiting for? Do you have a desire? A dream? A longing? What is making you put it off? Do you lack confidence in yourself to do it? Are you scared of failure? How do you know you'll fail if you don't even try?

I've never been a fan of "change." I'm a "planner" and I think that is why this year has been doubly hard. You don't "plan" on having cancer. You don't "plan" on losing your job, or your hair, or your eyelashes, or your eyebrows - or for some of my pink sisters - your breasts. And that is only to name a few things. Life is precious. If you are going to give someone flowers - give them to that person TODAY. For they may not be there tomorrow. Show people today. Show yourself today! Don't begin to live "tomorrow." Live TODAY. Fully with plenty of love, laughter and thanks.
                            Ecclesiastes 3:1 - 3:13
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
What does the worker gain from his toil?
I have seen the burden God has laid on men.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
 know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.
That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God.