One of the ways I know time is moving on is the approach of a new season. Summer is around the corner, a season shift, marked by warmer temperatures, blooming roses, sunscreen displays at the grocery store, and the flurry of end-of-school-year final activities. Over the years, I’ve embraced each season more and more, using it as a mental and emotional reset for myself. Four times a year I get the chance to acknowledge what time of year it is and embrace what goes along with that season.

Summer—sunscreen and dirt,  splash pads and fresh produce, and long days. Fall—pencils and school,  coziness and leaves, and tea. Winter—staying indoors and sweaters, sometimes snow and reading books, and Christmas. Spring—hope and seeds,  flowers and green, and seeing the sun again. Each season brings something different.

Scripture also acknowledges different seasons in life using a different framework. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV) says,

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

A time to be born and a time to die,

A time to plant and a time to uproot,

A time to kill and a time to heal,

A time to tear down and a time to build,

A time to weep and a time to laugh,

A time to mourn and a time to dance,

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

A time to search and a time to give up,

A time to keep and a time to throw away,

A time to tear and a time to mend,

A time to be silent and a time to speak,

A time to love and a time to hate,

A time to war and a time for peace.

In our era of multitasking,  having 30 browser tabs open, access to boundless information, and social justice causes, it can feel like we must DO ALL THE THINGS. But it’s practically impossible and a guaranteed formula to overwhelm my soul and make me feel like a failure. Some days it’s the time for me to engage in social justice causes and some days it’s the time for me to rest and read a novel. The question I try to allow myself to find peace in is, “What season does God have me in right now?” Some seasons will have only weeping and mourning and silence. And some seasons it will be time to laugh, dance, mend, and speak. God gave you today. What will you do with it?

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Sarah Clews loves being the wife of Carson and mother to three little girls. She received her degree in English from Corban University and still loves the craft of writing. She also helps her husband run a martial arts school. In her free time, Sarah enjoys talking with grown-ups (!), finding new authors, doing online research, and reading her favorite childhood stories to her girls.