I’d be willing to bet you’ve experienced some deep, hard things. Moments that can’t be erased and memories that still haunt. Life change happened, whether you wanted it to or not.

But for all the struggles and questions and hard times, there is a joy.

It might have slipped you by, unnoticed in all the chaos, but I pray you found it.

On the other side of every trial is unending joy that will light up every dark place.

As the beauty of changing leaves shifts to a season of grey and white, I’m struck by how empty the world feels, void of color.

It all seems so looming, the changing of the season. There are certain days on the calendar that signal change, and as the temperature drops and the leaves fall I know one season is about to fade into the next. Thanksgiving is around the corner and I’m reminding myself of one simple word that changes everything:

eucharisteo

I will be thankful.

I will remember His goodness.

I will look for the light of Spring when Winter seems long.

I will be thanks-giving, counting it a joy as I jump in the Fall leaves and drink way too many pumpkin spice frappuchinos at Starbucks – because life is short and all is a gift, no matter the season.

I don’t want to miss the gift of now by looking too far into the future. The present is a present, a gift waiting to be unwrapped.

How many joys have I allowed to slip by because I was too focused on the past or too worried about the future?

Every moment holds something of value – even the painful moments when you feel as empty of life as Winter. The fallen leaves may be hidden and the flowers of Spring have yet to bloom in your life, but as everything is blanketed by snow and you begin to feel empty, know that He is providing refreshment. This is a new season and it is a gift. The leaves will fall, the snow will melt, but don’t wait until then to count your blessings. 

We know it’s coming, this change. We can’t run from it or avoid it, so might I encourage you to embrace the new season of your life, even considering it a gift?

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

Don’t miss the good memories of laughter and popsicles, late night movies with friends, or the way the sun hits the leaves when you lay under the trees. Remember that each moment, each person, every trial and joy, is preparing you for His work. Corrie Ten Boom says it best: “Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.”

Catch the joys today, savor the moment and relish in the beauty. Don’t let the moment slip you by; there is light amongst the snow and beauty in the falling of leaves. Everything is but a season.

Have you recently entered a new season of life? Are you in a place of Winter? What joys are you counting today?

Photo credit: ebphotography

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