Seasons

I have been both hearing and learning a lot about seasons recently and the Lord keeps bringing that theme to mind. 2017 has been a year of transition and swiftly changing "seasons" in my life. In January of 2017, I was living in central Illinois and teaching high-school science full time. I was hanging out with family 3-4 nights a week, serving at church, and I saw my husband every weekend. Now in November of 2017, I am a full-time stay-at-home mom in Hawaii. My husband works 80 hours a week and my family is over 4,000 miles away. Having an 8 month old who naps twice a day makes it challenging to "serve" in a traditional sense at church (or at least in the ways I am used to). 

As someone who struggles particularly with transitions, I was really nervous for this year and what it would bring. However, God has made this such a sweet time of growth and development. He is really pressing into me this idea that my identity is 100% wrapped up in the person and work of Jesus and it has nothing to do with what I can "produce" for Him on a daily basis. This is a really hard concept for a type A, self-righteous, perfectionist to grasp. 

This morning as I was opening the Word, I read Psalm 1. If you know my husband and I, you know that Psalm 1 is very near and dear to our hearts. (You may have visited the Psalm 1 tree yourself.) 

"Psalm 1 Tree, Tremont, IL"    Photo Credit: Tyler Thompson

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers,
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers
-Psalm 1:1-3

Although I had read that Psalm many times before, I was struck by the phrase "yields its fruit in its season." That is when I had a startling realization (though this is not news to anyone): Trees do not yield fruit in EVERY season! Apple trees only produce apples in the fall. You would not walk by an apple tree in the spring and say: "what a worthless apple tree! There are no apples!" You know that even though there is not "visible fruit," the tree is undergoing a LOT of work to prepare for the harvest. The leaves are spreading out to absorb enough light energy to generate sugars via photosynthesis. The roots are drinking up water and transporting nutrients throughout the tree. Much of the "toil and labor" goes without much notice until harvest time when those bright, juicy delicious apples appear. 

I think the Christian life is very similar. We often think that we should be producing a "barrel of apples" once a week. Every week. For the rest of our lives. This is just simply not the case. Sometimes, there are seasons where you are just doing the beautifully mundane things of life, and this is kind of where God has me. Most of my day is just cooking, cleaning, and taking care of Esther. On the surface, I sometimes feel like I'm not doing anything for The Kingdom, but God is showing me that this is absolutely crucial to His story for my life. There will be times of "visible, extravagant" harvest, and there will be times when it is just about all I can do to lay flat and absorb the Sunlight . . . because the Sun still rises every day. You can bet your life on it. 

In the meantime, we can wait expectantly for the harvest and know that it will come in God's timing. There is one more important piece to notice from Psalm 1. . . "its leaf does not wither." If you happened to walk by that same "apple-less" tree in the spring and saw the leaves withering, that WOULD be cause for concern. A healthy plant is one that is "connected to the vine" for life-giving nourishment. 

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit,  for apart from me you can do nothing. - John 15:5

Your worth is measured by your input, not your output. Are you connected to the vine? Are you abiding with Jesus? Is He your one source of Joy, comfort and nourishment? That is all He asks of us. He will do the work and He will bring the harvest! You need only to abide.