Seasons

Two nights ago my daughter Ally and I were driving home from an Astros game when we discovered we were both scheduled to see the gynecologist/obgyn at the same time the following day. She was scheduled for a check-up as she approached her 5 month mark in pregnancy, and I was struggling with the joy of not sleeping, feeling crampy, and swinging in and out of heat stroke.  Being new to Texas, we both began seeing the same doctor when we moved here, but we never thought we'd be strapped into stir-ups at the same time!

We planned to meet at the office so I could watch her 2 year old Reese while she saw Dr. Pierce, then I'd have my turn seeing the doctor.  As it turned out, I got called into a patient room shortly after Ally did, so stroller in tow, I climbed up onto the table and waited.  I could hear my new grand baby's heartbeat through the wall, loud and strong, as if singing within my daughter's womb.  Listening to that rhythm took me back to the years I laid on this same kind of table in a different season of life; a season that anticipated heartbeats rather than hot flashes! I smiled as I remembered a wise scripture that reminds us:
         "There is an appointed time for everything.  And there is a time for every season under heaven."     (Ecclesiastes 3: 1)

The funny thing about seasons is whenever I'm in the middle of one, it seems I'm anxious to get to the next one.  I remember being eleven years old, dreaming about being thirteen.  When I was thirteen I couldn't wait to be sixteen.  At sixteen I could barely hold myself together until eighteen.

This pattern has continued as a woman.  I couldn't wait to leave my single life to be married.  Soon after getting married I couldn't wait to be pregnant; and after being pregnant for a short while I couldn't wait to get that over with and give birth.  Each stage of child rearing held the reward of getting to the next season: past sleepless nights with a new born, potty training a two year old, elementary school homework and busy schedules, high school drama, college entry exams... new seasons led to the anticipation of the next season, sure to be full of hope and promise. 

I remember a young mom asking me once "What's been the best season of your life?"  I could tell she really wanted some wisdom on this one.  The hope to blaze through one season to get to the season that flashed with glory and fanfare.  I simply said to her "Each season has been the best season."  She looked at me with disbelief as it obviously wasn't the answer she wanted.  She was a new mom with a colicky baby who demanded she walk the floors well into the night, rocking that little body until it calmed into a quiet hush.  I assured her that even this colicky season has its reward, as her baby was getting more prayer from her during these sleepless nights than it might get the rest of its life!  The truth is, when we rush through seasons anxiously anticipating what's coming next, we miss the treasures embedded in what's happening now. 

Solomon had it right when he said there's a time for every season under heaven.  We laugh, cry, hope, disappoint, yell, whisper, kiss, hold, and let go.  It's the way God created life, and the way we're meant to live it. 

Still on the table in the doctor's office, I was shocked when the doctor came in and informed me that my ovaries are still in great shape.  I wish she had been talking about my thighs, because there was a part of me that wanted to hear I was in full blown menopause and she could give me something to help!  But I tell you what I decided to do instead, I thanked God for my shapely ovaries, and the exact season I'm living in now.

 Even if I break out in a hot flash giving thanks, the season I'm living in now is the right season for me.

Blessings!
Gari