A Time and a Season

Hi Friend!
I hope this finds you enjoying the beautiful changes of this season. I love God’s handiwork in painting the landscapes I’ve seen this week as I travel.

In the past month, God has orchestrated many changes in my life too.
In early September, our youngest son, Gabe, flew the coop and moved about two hours south of us. We moved him into his own apartment in Onalaska, WA. Now he is closer to Ryanne, his girlfriend (now fiancé) of three years. They were engaged on September 20, 2016 and are busy planning a September 2017 wedding.
Now we are truly empty nesters.
We have so many memories in this home as we watched our sons grow. Gabe’s room looks so empty. I must be brave every time I walk past it. I know that soon new memories will be made in that space. But I choose not to focus on the hard part of this change.
Life is like that cycle of fall. Some things have to die to allow new growth.
Because of another precious change that happened this month, that empty room will fill with grandchild chuckles as Avery and Ellison spend overnighters with Nana and Papa. And when she is old enough, our newest granddaughter, Marlowe June, born September 22nd to our son, Zane and his beautiful wife, Kelsey will join in the overnighter fun. She is beautiful. I already have a crib ready for when she wants to visit.
As part of a big layoff at D+H, where I’ve worked the past seventeen years, September 30th was my last day.  I am on a new journey that requires bravery.
The blessing in all of this is I finally have time! Not that I have any more hours in a day than I did before, but now I have more freedom to choose how I spend that time.

• Time to spend with my grandchildren.
• Time to write that Bible Study I’ve been thinking about for about ten years.
• Time to finish my novel I started two years ago.
• Time to create more journals to help people document the events of their life.
• Time to blog more often.
• Time to travel with Gabe and be free to relax rather than work while on the road.
• Time to prioritize my health. I’m walking again and I plan to get back in shape.
• Time to seek God’s best plan for my life.

There is a time and a purpose for every season of our life. This is very exciting even though I’ve never been this way before. I trust that God will show me the purpose in every change I face.

The God-Given Task

⁹ What gain has the worker from his toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. ¹² I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; ¹³ also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
¹⁴ I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. ¹⁵ That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

I trust God. He knows the days ahead of me. I trust one day at a time. And I’m trying NOT to fill my days with busyness.
He knows the days ahead for you too, beloved. I pray you will trust Him for direction in those days.
Have a blessed week. Let’s trust together! Please comment if you’d like me to pray for a specific change you are going through. It is always my pleasure to pray.
Gigi