Image Credit: Fabio Jock
Daylight is getting shorter as we approach our observance of the first day of Fall on the calendar next month. At times it seems like the seasons just meld together and we lose track of time. Today I sit down and think about my seasons of change. I think about my Spring of life, the time I was born and learned how to discover my little world. I then remember my Summer, my formidable years of bumps, bruises, and growing up. I hit the recall button of my Fall/Autumn years, experiencing challenges I never saw coming personally, career-wise, financially, and while pursuing my continued education.
Sometimes it’s not easy remaining positive each day, especially when grief hits your door. For the past four years, it seems like our family endured many heartbreaking transitions of life. Some of the deaths were unexpected and those sudden encounters were a little tough to swallow.
I had a conversation with one of my brothers on the first day of this year. He said, “I hope 2024 is kinder than the past few years.” I agreed. Yet, this year posed another set of tragedies that jerked our chain of heartbreaks. My husband had two sisters who passed away this year (January and June). My brother-in-law (the husband of my sister who passed away right after my birthday in 2021) died on his birthday which is the same as mine (July). Last week, we buried my father’s sister, the last sibling of their shared lineage. Interestingly, she passed away on my husband’s birthday. What a way to celebrate huh? But I don’t seek pity. Death is just as much a part of life as life itself.
As I look over my life, where I am now, and what I hope to accomplish before I leave this world, as I exit this Fall season and shift into my Winter season, I hope and pray that the work I’ve done so far in my life will propel me to do more and give more. I don’t want my living to be nugatory. So, for however long the rest of my seasons last, I don’t have any control over that. All I can do is use the time that I have left and be a viable asset to pave a path of optimism and hope for the future that many others trekking down their life’s path may need help with.
All of us deal with tragedy and the unexpected events life throws at us differently. But in the same stance, we experience some remarkable and unforgettable moments that make us smile with glee. Our emotions and attitudes can be like a wild rollercoaster ride at times. While I am not a fan of riding a rollercoaster, I just have to strap on my safety belt and prepare for the seasonal rises and dips that meander through the rest of my gift of life. This gives my spirit peace. So take a moment today, and simply allow your life’s work, thus far, to speak to you like it never has before.
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;”
-Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (KJV)
From Behind the Pen 