"Been thinking a lot about seasons, and not just because we’re in the midst of my favorite one. I’ve been thinking about the ebb and the flow, the yin and the yang of sowing good seeds and harvesting the blessings of life. For the purpose of this blog, I’m speaking of blessings of the spirit.
I have a friend who’s going thru a bit of a rough patch. A job she depended on ended and as a result, some of the things (of the material variety) she feels she needs are now in jeopardy. As she shared her story, I was reminded of the principles of the seasons and what they teach us.
For anything to grow, be it an oak tree or your character, there are seasons we must endure and hopefully respect. Perennial flowers, which bloom year after year, come to mind. They are planted in spring, enjoyed for a few weeks in the summer, then cycle down to endure the chill of fall and cold of winter. Then when spring arrives, they bloom again. The blooming time gets all the attention, but there’s a lot of good going on within those flowers when winter has, for a time, hidden their blooms. To see their beauty yet not appreciate the cold dark season that nurtured them and gave them what they needed to thrive, is to miss the most important part of the growth process. It’s ironic that the time they’re the most appreciated for their beauty is the time when they’re the closest to giving up their leaves and blooms in order to prepare for the process anew.
Your dreams and plans are like that flower. And the seasons of life affect them in the same way. Sometimes it’s your “summer” and everything is beautiful and you’re flourishing. All is truly well. So well, that the chill to come may can catch you off guard and make you dread the stillness that’s comes in winter. But there’s care and nurturing in the seasons when you’re not figuratively in bloom. Winter is when WE grow, too.
My best lessons about provision and calling have come in my “seasons of lack,” those times when I lost what I felt I needed. God is awesome in that way. By losing what you feel you need to survive yet…surviving, you are reminded of how strong you really are and how little the perceived “necessities” in life really matter. Seasons of lack teach us that.
So the next time it’s cold and dark and all seems lost, take inventory of all that still remains. I promise it is more than you imagined and more than enough to keep you until your springtime comes.
With love,
Yvette Nicole Brown 
As always, please share what you’re learning…it helps us all grow! You can
reach me on twitter at: @yvettenbrown
Simply Believe…"
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