Written by: Shovorne AdamsFOUNDER AND WRITER, THE HOPE TABLE SISTERHOOD Website: www.thehopetable.comInstagram: www.instagram.com/thehopetableFacebook: www.facebook.com/thehopetablewomenGLOW AND GROW THROUGH YOUR WORST SEASONWe walked hand in hand in the wet and cold greys of a Folkestone day. Apart from the squawking of gulls and the commands of doggie parents walking man's best friend as they barked, there wasn’t much noise. The most distinct and heart-warming sound on this cold grey day was the sound of the ever-flowing sea rocking back and forth as it crashed into the rocks, flowed up onto the seashore, stopped at its boundary, swirled and then gracefully rolled back again. The sea repeated itself creating a rhythm. The nature of the sea was the best soundtrack for our autumn lovers walk. As my hubby walked beside me he said “Do you know what I love? It’s that even though it’s cold and grey, yet we still get to see the sun shining through. It's so bright” I lifted my head and he was so right. It was a stunning sight. The sun just hung there in the sky beaming brightly as if it was a summers day in July. Yet here we were in the grey and brown color scheme of October and the sun had boldly come to illuminate our day. As I considered the beautiful view, I responded to my husband with what I felt was whispered into my heart “Yes it’s beautiful. Shows us that sometimes even when it’s not our (best) season we still have to show up” Have you ever had one of those seasons? Or even one of those days? It’s just not going well. The cold and grey realities of your life’s seasons are taking their toll and you don’t feel like showing up for the job you used to love, or the relationship you used to adore, or the people you used to delight in serving? You just feel weary and detached. Present yet not present. Isolated from it all. There was a lady in the Bible that was having an extra tough season. Her name was Hagar. Family life wasn’t working out and she ended up in a very dark season and abandoned in the desert with her son, weary, detached and isolated from it all. She got to the point where she was ready to give up. She sat in the desert and had removed herself from her son because they had run out of food and drink and she just couldn't cope. Genesis 21:17 - 19 "God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the boy crying from the place where he is. Get up, help the boy up, and grasp his hand, for I will make him a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. Her little bottle had run out of the water, but God provided her with a well. Her personal endless source of water. But it didn’t end there, that she had her needs met. The angel asked her to get up and go and take her son by the hand and help him too. He was called to be great. That’s right. Even though it wasn't her best season, Hagar was still called to show up. First, she had to get up off her knees, hold her head up to the blessing in front of her, show up for herself, then she had a duty to stand up and show up for someone else - her son. To take him by the hand and ensure he was well-watered. With God by her side, she could grow through and glow through this season. I’m not sure what you are going through today, or what you feel like you should isolate yourself from in your grey cold season, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You have a choice and just like the sun on our cold Folkstone lovers walk, or Hagar as she mothered in distress, sometimes, even when it’s not your (best) season, you can still show up. |