Items of clothing which have languished in the dark recesses of my wardrobe are preparing to see the light of day for the first time in many moons, before they make the move to someone else's closet. For too long they have made mine feel complete when it should have been in a state of flux, the old making way for the new.
Too many times have I found myself staring at a full wardrobe, bemoaning the fact that there is nothing to wear. My sartorial friends, I know you feel for me when I say: it is time for a new season.
The thing about seasons is, they change seasonally (I know. Ground breaking stuff... Bear with me). After an expected period of time our season changes and we know what to do. The old makes way for the new. We swap fans for heaters, sandals for boots, iced drinks for hot ones. When it comes to physical seasons, we know how to prepare.
With the seasons of our lives however, we do not always do so well. Transitions see us swing on the pendulum of reactions: from holding onto our season for dear life, willing it not to change, to pushing forward into the next season with such alacrity that we hurt ourselves trying – and lose out on the lessons of the season we are in.
Seasons are there to teach us something. Often they confer on us wisdom, and if we ignore it we find ourselves ill-equipped to fight the next battle and reign the next level of terrain we are called to. They take time. "Rush" is the enemy of "wait", which is often where wisdom hides, seeking those who want to seek it. Like an athlete, seasons of training lead to developments that come into play on the field of life where it is not what we say, but how we play which determines that we win the game.
What is this season training? Me, I'm learning what I will have to take with me before I have to learn it the hard way. Similarly, let it develop in you too until it runs its course and is built into who you are. Maturity is to character what muscle memory is to the body. It builds what you are up out of who you were, turns you into a stronger person than you thought you could be and helps you lift the heavy obstacles that once blocked your road.
We do not build this bulk for nothing, merely to put it on display. Strength is not there to be built, it is there to be used. And we must use it in our everyday life to be of service to the One who called us, and to those into whose life we sow it.
Grace Mathew is a Sydney-based writer and speaker who recently graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of International and Global Studies.
Grace Mathew's archive of articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/grace-mathew.html