The Growing Season

                In the Bible one of my favorite books is the book of Job.  The tragic story of a man weathering a multitude of storms; continuously facing trials and tribulations, only to overcome the suffering which brings rejoicing and glory to God.  There have been seasons in my life that may not have compared to the magnitude of trials that Job had, but none the less were high classed hurricanes for me and my family. 

                The past few weeks I have felt as if our family was in the midst of a storm.  Two of our children have some pretty high needs and their needs have started taking a toll on us.  My weeks have consisted of being in the car from 7 am until 4:30 pm running from doctor appointment to doctor appointment, completing missed school work, homework, social workers, on top of working full time, preparing for a week of camp with my 6^th graders, and maintaining a household of six. As you can imagine this has made for one exhausted and cranky mama!!  This kind of stress has a tendency of transferring over to my marriage as well, which only increases the strength of the storm.

                In the book of Job, Satan approached God and asked to test his servant.  Job lost his family, his wealth, his health, his status in the community, you name it, Job lost it.  The only thing Job never lost was his faith……  No matter the tribulation set before Job, Satan was never successful in his attempt to part Job from God.  I realize this past week that as we faced the testing and struggles of our children’s needs and the stress it placed on the entire family, including our marriage, we had to remain grounded in our faith and in what God was calling us to accomplish. 

Like the very special serotinus pine trees, the “storms” we faced the past few weeks were/are necessary for our growth.  These trees have special cones that will not release their seeds until they have been exposed to extreme heat.  In other words, if these trees do not endure a fire storm, their cones do not open to release their seeds for reproduction and growth will never happen. God has designed all of us to “grow” and “produce” after being refined in the midst of life’s storms.  With every storm we face and each season of sacrifice, God is able to use us in bigger and better ways, refining us so that we may bring Him glory and honor in all we do. 

James 1:2-4

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Find joy in your season of growth.