For Everything There Is a Season

From the very beginning, I loved babies and little ones. I officially entered the workforce as a babysitter — at 12 years old. I earned a whopping 50 cents an hour. I felt rich walking home with two whole dollars in my pocket. Big time!

Today I hear babysitters earn $10 to $20 an hour. Jackpot indeed!

Then came a new season: motherhood. These babies were mine. I rarely left them with anyone except their grandmothers — women whose love ran deep and whose kitchens were always stocked with treats. We could leave for hours, even days, knowing our children were safe, cherished, and probably a little spoiled.

And then — another season. Our children became parents, and we stepped into the wonder of grandparenting. No words really do it justice. It’s a love that sneaks up on us and settles in for good. Time with them — our home or theirs — was always time well spent.

King Solomon reminds us that life unfolds in seasons, not just the ones we frame and hang on the wall: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) Some seasons are joyful. Others are quiet. Some feel like winter.

And maybe that’s necessary — a changing of the seasons for God’s good will and pleasure placed in us!

Fields need winter to heal. So do hearts. Winter slows us down. It invites reflection. It gives God space to examine what we carry — hurtful words from long ago, secret fears, worries over children and grandchildren, sins we wish we’d avoided, habits we’d rather not admit.

I picture our hearts like a field. If Jesus stood beside us, He’d leave no stone unturned. Solomon even speaks of “a time to gather stones and a time to cast them away.” (Ecclesiastes 3:5)

What a picture — Jesus gathering the stones that clutter our hearts, clearing the ground for new life.

After all, He specializes in rolling stones away — even the one sealing His own tomb.

So let’s slow down, dear friends. Let’s let winter do its work.

Jesus is already in the field, making all things new.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are new creations; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17