Spinning Your Wheels?

When winter arrives you put away your bathing suit and when summer arrives you put away your snowsuit - each season requires it's own clothing. In the same way, it can be difficult and uncomfortable to step into the next season if you want to wear last seasons activities, worries and thought processes.

Changes in life circumstances require a shift in thinking - concerning how you treat your body, what you spend your time on, how your finances are used and who you spend time with.

An example of this in the natural would be changes in seasons from being single, to being married, to having children, to being an 'empty nester.' Each of these changes requires a shift in life style: you don't live the same way once you have children as you did when you were single - it's not a successful plan for that season.

If we remain stuck in last season's mode of operation we may spin our wheels in the new season. For example, a healthy and active 75 year old does not do the same things he did when he was 15 - his body may be healthy but it acts differently and he must adjust his life accordingly. This is especially possible because he has gained much wisdom in the 60 years that have passed before getting to his current season. It's a bit like having an older car - I can take care of it and treat it with kid gloves, but I wouldn't drive it the same way I'd drive a spanking, new Camaro.

In Luke 56 Jesus chides his audience for not being able to discern the seasons and times they're in. He wanted them to take a clue about the current Spiritual season - to note what was going on around them not just physically, but spiritually, and act accordingly.

If you've spun your wheels and been frustrated, perhaps you've missed the 'shift.' Perhaps the change of seasons has come and you're stuck in last season's mode of thinking and operating. If so, take a step back, go before the Lord and discern the times! Find out what needs to go, what needs to stay, what needs to be stepped up a notch.

Then do it!