The Gift of This Season

 

                            

Lately, I have found myself quietly smiling at the beauty of this new season of life I have stepped into.

It is a season I don’t want to rush through.

A season filled with unexpected gifts — traveling, speaking, writing, and gathering around our dining room table with family and friends, both old and new. There is something so special about a table filled with stories, laughter, good food, and the simple gift of being together.

My heart and mind feel wonderfully full these days. I have several books scattered around me, ideas blooming faster than I can write them down, and creativity spilling into every corner of my days.

And I love it.

I love the feeling of creating.
I love the joy of sharing.
I love seeing where God leads when we simply say, “Here I am.”

But this season also carries a tender reminder of where I have been.

Just a year ago, I was walking through one of the hardest roads of my life — caring for my mom as dementia took her into its final stages.

My heart aches for every family walking that road right now. It is a journey filled with moments of deep love, exhaustion, grief, and a kind of surrender that only those who have lived it can truly understand.

There were days I wondered if I would ever feel this kind of freedom and joy again.

But looking back, I realize something beautiful:

The hard season didn’t steal my ability to enjoy this season.

It prepared me to receive it.

Because when you have walked through the valley, the sunlight feels warmer.
When you have carried heavy burdens, the simple moments feel like treasures.
When you have known loss, you learn to hold tightly to every blessing.

Maybe I would not have appreciated this season the same way without the one that came before it.

The tears watered the soil.
The waiting strengthened the roots.
And now, little by little, new things are growing.

So today I choose to receive this season with open hands and a grateful heart.

For every conversation around the table.
For every word written.
For every mile traveled.
For every person God places in my path.

I don’t know all that is still ahead, but I know this:

The same God who carried me through the hardest days is the God who is leading me into the sweetest ones.

And I cannot wait to see what He grows next