Spring: Time For Change

Many people make their new life-resolutions before the New Year begins in January. However, spring usually feels more appropriate timed for life transitions, as it naturally follows the mood of the season. The cold is begins to lessen, the day begins to lengthen, we can begin to smell nature, and flowers are getting ready to bloom. It’s a perfect time to make a change, and it can serve to be a second wind to those New Year’s resolutions that may not have held as much momentum as initially hoped.

I’ve been quite blessed lately. I have a baby due in May, my family will come visit, finances are getting back on track after the slow season, and my schedule for photography is prioritized. God has been good and although it’s taken a lot of patience and things took time to materialize, I would not have learned many valuable lessons if it weren’t for the hardships. As reluctant as I may feel to give thanks where it’s due to something painful, God has an interesting way of helping us trust and learn that His plans are good and that He never leaves us.

Patience is a rare commodity these days. I’d be tempted to say that we’re hardly to blame because our environment has set us up for it. However, we can never blame shift. We have a responsibility to keep ourselves in check, even if the odds are against us. The moment we give an excuse any validation, we’re pretty much given into defeat while trying attempting to drive away responsibility. Additionally, the worst thing you can do is to feel bad for yourself because of circumstances. Feeling sorry for oneself never resulted in anything productive. We can move from victim to victor if we choose.

People easily make the mistake of pursuing major life changes while hoping to see the results as quickly as possible. That’s why a failed New Years Resolution is so common – we become discourage when the rain and clouds take time to pass on. A sustainable lifestyle isn’t a quick fix.

Eventually, I’ve found more peace when I’ve allowed myself to be “not good” at something that I’m working to improve. This initially was a nearly impossible task. So I had to dig deeper into why being “bad” or “not good” was so bad – which sounds ridiculous, but it was an issue. When we find the reasons for our problems, than we can appropriately apply logic to fix them.

What I learned about myself was interesting. I had subconsciously believed that I needed to be “good” at something (or most everything I tried) so that I would be a useful and valuable person. This was a tricky area for me to work out of, but thankfully I didn’t need to soothe my stressed ego with a list of requirements on what it means to be a good person.

God took care of the answers for me. I realized through reading the Bible that some of the most powerful and well-known characters in the Bible messed up quite badly and often. God has a unique sense of humor when teaching lessons – especially when it comes to wise people who believe their knowledge is self-sufficient, and “weak” people who believe that they can’t do much to contribute. God didn’t choose the unpopular or weak people because they had some special unseen talent. He wanted to prove to everyone that both the least and greatest people on this earth are capable of being useful and valuable for God’s kingdom. We just have to be willing, with a loving heart, to take action for God’s plan and pursue His will for our lives.

For further related reading, please check out: “The Easy Life.”