Different Seasons I Went Through This 2023

 

 

Thank God, another 365 days had passed! Within those days, a lot had happened. In just a year, I went through different seasons/phases that everytime it ended, I always come out as a different person. Thus, I am calling this year as something I didn’t expect to happen, but did.

 

Unlike in real life, when a season is about to change, a weather forecaster would announce it for people to get prepared. In my life, seasons came to me without warning. I experienced spring, autumn, summer, and winter.

 

Take note: no warnings from the Universe and no weather forecaster told me that I’ll be going to go through those seasons (figuratively speaking!). Therefore, I went through all those seasons also without preparation. And, I think all of us can relate to it in some level. No one prepared us for what we are about to go through, but we still got through it. We had it in us to weather any storm in our lives. That’s a beautiful thing about life --- whatever it throws at us, we always bounce back stronger.

 

I can’t think of any possible explanation for this phenomenon but Deuteronomy 31:8, “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you.”

 

Looking back at all the seasons I went through without warning and preparation and I still somehow survived through it, was all because of GOD. He goes before me, he already knows what’s ahead of me, and he is with me through it all. In whatever season of my life; He is there, saying to me, “I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10.

 

Without God’s presence in my life, I could not have survived the seasons I went through this 2023. I am so glad that I put my future in the palms of His hands. Had I not, I am probably a lost sheep, going astray, finding her purpose in this world. Something beautiful happens when we surrender our plans to the Lord in exchange of His. We don’t have to control anything and to take matters into our own hands that are not ours to deal with.

 

I may not have been warned about the seasons that will pass in my life, but He is. Upon allowing God to take over into my life, He gave me enough resources I’ll be needing to get through those seasons. God revealed to me that in life seasons, I don’t have to go through it prepared. He let me go through it to prepare me for what is still about to come.

 

During the spring season in my life, God removed people that are not contributing to my growth as a person. He let me go through spring to prepare me for the blooming season in my life. It means, He needs to clear out everything unnecessary for my bloom, to create space for new flowers to flourish. He removes dead plants in my life, so I would stop watering them. He would put new seeds in my garden, so I would start focusing on their growth. My growth.

 

Summer comes after spring. We all know that during summer, plants and trees are giving fruit. God prepared me for summer, so I’ll be ready to get fruitful. Summer season feels dry and boring and my life became just that when God removed plants and flowers in my life that are not growing anymore, but I adored so much because of their beauty. Little did I know, it is God’s way of making me want to seek Him. To thirst for His presence. To find my joy and peace in Him.

 

Leaves changes colors and they fall from trees during autumn season. There was a moment in my life this year that I also fell apart like leaves from the trees. I found out why leaves fall from the trees during autumn season and the reason behind it is the leaves weaken from the branch that the wind blew them away. During that moment in my life that I feel the weakest, God became my strength. For I know the plans He has for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm me (Jeremiah 11:29). This very verse is what made me trust Him even if my life seems to be falling apart.

 

Winter is the coldest season. When I searched the advantages of winter, one of them is “resting,” --- both for the nature and humans. To survive the winter, most trees shed their colorful leaves and enter a resting period. God didn’t allow me to go through those three seasons without providing rest for me, and that’s on winter. Just like animals on winter season that finds their shelter, I too, have done that in the presence of God. He kept me safe and warm during the cold days.

 

God used those four seasons to help me prepare for what is about to come in the next season of my life. In whatever season we are currently going through, He is with us. He cares for us. 

I always carry this verse with me, “All things work together for good, for those who love Him, and for those who are called according to His purpose.” – Romans 8:28. He sees our struggles, and we may not see it, but He is using our struggles for our own good. No one can understand or comprehend God’s ways. It is far from human understanding. But, it’s okay, because God doesn’t ask us to understand Him. All He asks of us is to trust Him even if we don’t understand.

 

I have nothing but gratitude for 2023. I am grateful for all the moments whether good or bad for all those moments are shaping me into a woman I must become. I am grateful for all the memories I created with the new people I met, people I’ve known for so long, people I deeply care about, and even to those people that I outgrew, that I chose to cut ties with, and to those who left my life.

 

Whether I’m currently in good terms with these people or not, I still wanted to acknowledge their presence in my life journey this 2023. It was nice figuring life with them. My 2023 happenings would not be complete without them, they are the pieces of my puzzle.

 

I have a lot to look forward to this 2024, I’m excited for what’s coming than sulk in what I already left behind. What happened in 2023 stays in 2023. I just know that God prepared a lot for me in 2024. He makes everything beautiful in His time – Ecclesiaster 3:11.

 

This has been Clar, praying for a blessed 2024 for all of us. Never forget that whatever season we will go through, God is with us. Seek His presence above all else. Happy new year, loves!