Seasons Of Our Lives

6 Spiritual Seasons of Life (and How to Flourish in Them)

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She spoke of schooling, appreciation for her family and the endless possibilities in the future.

Second was a mother of three young boys, with another on the way. Third was a mom who had a son on a mission with a few more close behind. Fourth was an empty nester, a grandmother of a couple dozen grandchildren.

Each talked of the joys and challenges of the phase, or season they were experiencing. The teacher went on to explain the importance of having seasons; fall, winter, spring and summer. She shared about the time they lived in Gilbert, Arizona, where the seasons were warm summer, hot summer, hotter summer and cooler summer.

At first she loved taking the kids trick-or-treating in their shorts, and putting up the Christmas lights without shoes on. However, by the second year, she was ready for a more dramatic change in seasons. The point of the lesson was that we have many seasons in our lives, and how important it is to appreciate the season we are currently in, as the time will come when we will be on to another season and long the for joy and experiences of the season we just left.

As a lifelong single person, it was sobering to look around and see all these women transitioning through the different seasons of their lives, while I sit in "Gilbert, Arizona" for 25 years! I am not so sure that this season was supposed to last this long. I thought of the women who were not able to bare or raise children and realized that the season of children and grandchildren may not be in their lifetime.

10 Reasons to Embrace the Season of Life You're In

I thought of those with children who had serious disabilities, who would need to be cared for the rest of their life; they may never be empty nesters. Of course I thought of people like me, who seemed to have skipped all the seasons. Then there are those who gave birth or got married for only a minute before they experienced loss, forced in to another season, longing to stay in the season they were originally in. So to hear about the importance of the different "seasons" of our lives, and not being able to move past summer or get out of ' Gilbert, Arizona' can be discouraging at times.

I wish I had an easy answer for those who can relate, but I don't. With fresh perspectives on Jeremiah's plans for "a future of hope," Jesus' agony in the garden, and Isaiah's promise of "a way in the wilderness," Laura Kelly Fanucci offers hope for those wondering what comes next when life feels broken. Grief, Finding Hope in Sorrow.

Seasons of our Lives

Loss comes to each of us, without fail. Scripture can serve as a companion to us in the grief we bear and ultimately in our surrender to our compassionate God.

Through this set of insightful reflections on the stories of Ruth and Naomi, the death and raising of Jesus' friend Lazarus, and the promise of a new heaven and earth, Laura Kelly Fanucci invites us to a deepening experience of God's healing presence in our lives. In a society where so many of us are on the move-relocating because of employment, to be near extended family, or even just to pursue a dream of living somewhere new-staying connected is a real challenge.

The Scriptures invite us to discover God's presence in a new place and in the midst of a changing community.

Seasons of our Lives

Passages from the Old and New Testaments offer lessons that are fresh and relevant today. Stress has stitched itself into the fabric of modern life, slowly but surely weaving its way into the tapestry of our days. So many things worry us. So many things weary us.

Editorial Reviews

Where will we look for renewal? How can we restore the golden thread of peace into our lives?

Finding Peace, Letting Go of Stress and Worry explores three New Testament passages, refreshing our minds and hearts in the love of God, our unity with Christ, and the peace that flows from loving one another. New Beginnings, Finding God in the Unknown. New beginnings are often fraught not only with excitement and adventure, but anxiety and uncertainty.

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