The Shifting Season
HEATH & WELLNESS MINISTRY ARTICLE (AUGUST 2022)
Written by Cynthia Warner, Parish Nurse at LCUMC
It’s there - in the turning of the page. In the new month on the calendar.
The arrival of the month of August brings so many emotions. I can literally feel the shift in my body and in my soul.
It’s a time of transition. It’s a season of firsts. It’s a season of lasts. It’s a season of change. It brings excitement, fear, loneliness and so many other emotions.
Here in the mountains, summer is evolving. The beginning of August finds us engrossed in those hot, humid, dog days of summer. We transition from the peak of summer heat and humidity into the rainy season. Hurricane and tropical storm season looms and the resulting weather impacts us as well as our coastal neighbors. I sense the shift in the weather and begin to think of the pending change in seasons. Fall is not that far away.
I feel a bit melancholy about it.
August is filled with “firsts.”
For many, August signals the first day of school. It could be the “first” first for many sweet ones. For those who are beginning kindergarten and learning more than curriculum, it brings many emotions. It’s exciting, but hard. The littles learn to navigate many firsts, including classroom rules, possibly being away from home for the first time, and brand-new challenges such as cafeterias. Meanwhile, mom and dad are mourning the growth in their child, while simultaneously celebrating that milestone.
For others, it’s yet another “first” day of school. They’ve done this before, but still feel an uneasiness. Who will their teacher(s) be? Will their friends share their classes? Maybe this is the year they walk in alone for the first time. Or perhaps, the first year they drive themselves to and from school.
Others will experience a “first” in a new school or learning community. Maybe they are moving from primary to middle school, middle to high school, or from high school to college. This may be the first year they have a locker, experience band or sports, or live in a dorm.
August is also filled with “lasts.” Maybe it’s the last first day of elementary, middle, high school, or college. Maybe it’s the last year that parents will drive their kids to class before ceding some independence. Maybe this is the year that’s filled with all the bittersweet senior class moments.
August is also filled with learning to let go. Students aren’t the only ones who feel the shift. Many parents are learning to find themselves as their parenting shifts. Some grandparents are providing after-school childcare for their grandchildren, while the parents work. Some parents are learning how to exist in their empty nest. It can feel exciting and lonely.
All the excitement and shifting can feel overwhelming. It’s easy to get bogged down in it all.
While it may seem that August brings turmoil to your life, it doesn’t have to bring turmoil to your soul. The shifting seasons bring significant changes in nature, temperature, and human activity. And no matter how much you may enjoy a particular season, at some point it ends. Just like the seasons and weather, we all face changes and transitions that require us to shift and adjust.
The Bible is filled with stories of transition. David transitioned from shepherd to king. Paul transitioned from persecutor to preacher. Even Jesus transitioned by becoming flesh.
Change is scary. But change and transition lead to growth. Shifting seasons allow us to grow in our faith. New experiences allow us to get to know God in new and fresh ways. To grow, we need to be willing to let go of the old and welcome the new; welcome the firsts and the lasts.
Changes in seasons can bring about drastic changes to our routines. An important biblical principle of transition is that we are already changing daily, being renewed day by day.
Each season of life is preparing us for the next. Often God teaches us in our current season, and we gain the skills we need for the next season. I have a hand-drawn reminder taped near my bed that I can see each morning and night. It is an outline of mountain peaks with the words, “Mountains are where teaching happens.” I created this reminder during a particularly hard season of shifting in my life. It was my takeaway from a Bible study. Its purpose was to remind me that it isn’t always those mountaintop moments that are where the important lessons are gained. While spectacular in the moment, the mountaintops are the celebration points. But it is in those hard valleys where the real lessons, transitions and important moments lie. That’s the hardest but ultimately the best part of the journey.
God holds to His promises. He makes roads in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, and hiking trails out of our valleys.
Let us learn to embrace change. Remember, Jesus never changes. He is your constant. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. And He is walking with you and holding your hand through the shifting season. Let Jesus be your anchor in times of transition.
So put on your armor of God. And keep shifting!
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
