Seasons Come and Seasons Go….

One thing for sure – we have definitive seasons here in Upstate New York. We just completed a very wet summer and we have already stepped into our fall season. Quickly, many of the leaves are turning red, yellow and orange, and it won’t be long before we’ll be raking them up or mulching them! Actually, I (Charlie) love autumn and Sher, she hates anything that even indicates the white stuff that will soon follow. Yes, we have had our share of winters here in NYS, and although they can be very beautiful, they can be brutally cold! Well anyways, let us ask you a question, and we really want you to think about this one and answer honestly. Ready? OK! What happens when you’re into a season of life that you personally are not happy with?  Do you…

a) Whine, Cry and Complain

b) Throw an adult tantrum

c) Blame God

d) Take it out on others

e) All of the above

Well, if I (Charlie) were answering this question, sadly it would be – (e), all of the above. Hey, I’ve been there and done that, and thank God I have learned from those seasons of life. Many times the seasons of life are God’s ways of sifting us.  The word sifting means the process of separating or filtering the good from the bad, the desirable from the undesirable.  Good stuff – right?  Yeah, but it can be painful! Just as in the natural seasons, we can temper what’s going on. For instance, too hot in the summer, turn on the air conditioning; Too many leaves in the yard in the Fall, blow them away with the leaf blower; Too much snow in the winter, shovel or snow blow it away; Too wet in the spring, stay inside! We can try to side-step God’s sifting, and honestly we can, but there’s a price to pay in the end if we do. How do Sher & I seem to know so much about this topic? Well, Sher and I have incorrectly responded to sifting times in our lives, or should I say tried to “side-stepped” or dance around them. We have rebelled – tried to blame God, and even tried to blame our sifting/season on someone else. Hey, I (Charlie) have even tried to jump out of the sifter! Sher and I really love what Charles Stanley has to say about sifting: “But God’s response to such rebellion is to eventually bring us to repentance. In bringing us to repentance, He will not violate our fee will. He’ll bring a lot of pressure, but He won’t force repentance without cooperation. There are folks along the way who choose to submit in the sifting process and not stubbornly resist.   When we submit, do you know what God does? He expands our ministry and our lives and makes us more useful. Sifting is for a purpose. And that purpose is to make us better servants!”

So instead of blowing away those nasty leaves or cranking down the air to elevate the heat – how about walking through the season of shifting trusting that God has it all under control? I love this quote, “God is not concerned with getting us out of our problems as He is in getting us through our problems.” When God is sifting us, he’s walking us through a maturity process. It is our opinion that He custom fits the sifting process to each one of us – it’s not a one size fits all – BUT a custom designed tailor fit sifting! Maybe we should say, “SIFTINGS” – since there are many that will take place in your lifetime. Hey, God’s got our number and He definitely knows where we live – and He will complete the good work that he began in each and everyone of us!”

Sometimes during a God tailor-made sifting process, our identity is put on the line. When this is happening God is asking you, “Who or what is your identity anchored too?” Ouch!! AND “Who’s will do you want done – God’s will or yours?”  OUCH – OUCH!  Some great questions to answer – eh?

Let us close with some wise words from a very wise man, C. S. Lewis, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”   Until next time, Charlie & Sher here saying May God Richly Bless You!