The First Step

Not all seasons are the same. In nature, they are completely distinct. My very favorite, summer, is a season of warmth and growth. Over a powerful green canvas, God paints magnificent pictures full of color and life. Then in comes autumn and even if for a brief moment, the colors explode covering the canvas with pure awe. Shortly after, winter enters turning the canvas blank again…bare and white…as if God had taken an eraser to wipe off the lively pictures of the previous seasons, in preparation for a new master piece: spring!

The seasons in our lives are just as different. Joy, sadness, silliness, contentment, loss, loneliness, depression, impatience, insecurity, fear, love…are all colors on our canvas that the Divine Painter mixes in perfect mastery to create the moments that constitute our lives…the seasons of our lives.

In the seasons of trial, trouble, hardship and tribulation, the darkest shades dominate the palette. As in the short days of winter, gloom quickly falls upon in the seeming absence of light. It is very common during this season to fall into a deep ocean of despair where the clutches of fear grab us and push our heads under water. We drown in the current of panic, losing sight of the horizon. We uselessly toss and flap our arms hoping to push ourselves up, but the waves of worry overpower us.

The greatest temptation is to give in to hopelessness.

However, there is another temptation which can yield just as damaging results as hopelessness: the illusion of self-sufficiency.

Sometimes, some of us resist falling into the trap of believing that all is lost by falling into the trap of thinking we can solve it all…that we are in control. We manipulate, concoct and strategize. We spend so much of our time thinking the situation through, searching for answers, steps, procedures, processes that will take us out unharmed, back to the shore, that we lose sight of the truth. And the truth is that we invest endless hours trying to fix things, but often none of those long hours are spent in seeking the Lord. We get so caught up into our plan that we forget it is God’s plan. We get so busy designing venues and possibilities that we forget it is God’s design. We become so self-absorbed into our own little world that we forget we belong to the family of God and He is in control.

Today, regardless of what season of our lives we might be stepping into, let us remember that the first step should always be prayer. Let us forget about everything else, and first, let’s get down on our knees to contact He who knows what each of our days will bring. Let’s seek Him first…and may the only thing we try to fix be our eyes upon His face.