HEEELLLLOOOO SAAATTTUURRDDDAAAAAYYYY!
it is a beautiful saturday morning, and im sitting in front of my computer deciding what i am going to contribute to the world today. unfortunately saturdays are not my day to be too active because of work. BUT. thats not the case for most people. yall. take a look at the world you live in. take a look at the people you are surrounded by. look at this beautiful creation that The Lord has built all around you.
today i encourage you to go out into the world. do something new. try something that scares you. be honest with yourself. love a stranger. dont take this life for granted. too many people dont get to live a long, full life. so love the one you have, while you have it.
The Lord has a reoccurring theme when speaking over his children. he tells them to "Be Fruitful". this is so beautiful. there is so much behind those words. be fruitful. bear fruit. what fruit are you contributing to the world? something im learning about, are the different seasons of life. there are seasons of growing, hardship and trial. seasons of stillness, and dryness. and seasons of reward and pleasure. what season are you in? i encourage you to lean into whatever season you are in. i know for myself, i am so stubborn. i like to think that i know what is best for myself all the time in every single situation. but the reality of it is, i truly know nothing other than what The Lord tells me. still seasons are hard. you feel as if youre waiting and just sitting around in a "blah" state. but yall, this is a beautiful place. this is where you just get to sit in the presence of The Lord. you get to enjoy his embrace and his faithfulness. right now, i am a season of pruning and growing. and im talking about an uncomfortable growth that makes you want to cringe. a growth that hurts because its unexpected and to be honest, against my will. one morning i was talking to the Lord and i asked him why i was in the season that i am in. i asked what the purpose of this season was. and he explained the process to me.
you see, when you plant a tree, the tree isnt immediately strong and embedded in the ground. fruit doesnt start growing as soon as the tree is in soil. the tree has to go through several different seasons of preparation before it can bear fruit. it goes through seasons of soaking up nutrients. he explained this as soaking up wisdom that is around you. taking in the advice and wisdom from those that he has placed around you.
there is a season of cold, dry and hard weather. this is where we get discouraged. but this is an awesome place. this is where we get to stretch our roots down deep into The Lord and be so far into him that no matter how hard the winds blow, we are strong because he is our foundation. unwavering, strong and healthy. i feel as if sometimes we think winter is going to last forever. but yall, there is something beautiful in winter. when we look at trees that grow, we sometimes dont see their progress because its all happening underground in the roots. so take comfort in the fact that maybe you wont see your growth until your winter is over. but you will look at it one day and see how much you have grown.
we have seasons of pruning. cut back and cut off. The Lord removes the pieces of our life that are either toxic or not needed for our future. this is the hardest one. this is the stuff that we dont want to give up. this is the stuff that is against our will. this is the stuff that hurts. we hold onto earthly things so tightly. but yall. we were not made for this world! how encouraging to know! we were made for something far better than this world. so let him cut off the pieces of your life that are not helping you in your journey to further the kingdom and bring glory to his name.
now we have the seasons of bearing fruit. these are the fun ones. i feel as if these are my seasons that i like to call a "Jesus High". we are so on fire for The Lord and his heart that life is just easy. its fun and we suddenly have great understanding for our surroundings and what is happening in ourselves. we are in tune with The Lords heart.
then all the sudden our seasons start over and we are left with thinking that we did something wrong. i used to look at seasons in the form of a ladder. when i was in a fruitful season i felt as if i was climbing the ladder successfully, but when i would come to a hard season, i thought that The Lord was knocking me down a couple of steps because i did something wrong. i was looking at it all wrong. different seasons are a sign of progression. we have to enter into different seasons because life is always moving on. we are always encountering different and new things. we have to adjust. so you are not being knocked down. The Lord is just helping you climb with a different technique. be encouraged by the tough seasons. you have to have preparation to pour out into others. you have to have nutrients and a healthy foundation to lead others into a spot of growth in Christ.
im not preaching here. im simply sharing a piece of my current life and what The Lord is showing me in the process. this is advice and counsel that other women have spoken into my life and over different seasons of life that i have encountered. life that is hard but also so rewarding. trust in The Lord. understand that you are where you are for a specific reason. know that even if you are uncomfortable with the season you are in, The Lord was the one that placed you there for a reason. there is blessing in submission. there is blessing with trust. there is blessing in faithfulness.
be blessed friends. love with all that you have. know that its okay to not be okay. you dont have to have it all together at all times. its okay to admit that youre weak in moments. its okay to feel like the only thing right in your life is the one who is planning it. The Lord. rest in the unknown. rest in his embrace. it will be worth it in the end. i promise.
all my best always
zoie