Pure Magazine

'Tis A Season

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For those of you that don't know, this has been a year full of change for me. Back in August, we discovered that my husband Will has cancer and he has been on chemotherapy since the beginning of September. And as much as I'd like to say that I've held it all together, the fact of the matter is that it has been extremely difficult. The reason that I made the title of this article "'Tis A Season" instead of "'Tis The Season" is because I wanted to remind everyone going through hard times that we all go through different seasons in life. The rain will go away eventually and the clouds will subside. You will see the sun shine again.

My husband and I like to make lists of goals for the year. Earlier this year, we had a very long list, with plans and expectations of what would happen. Well, we never would have thought in a million years that something like this would happen to Will. He is young and healthy, in shape and active. But, cancer doesn't play favorites and sometimes life surprises us. The comfort that we find, however, is that God will never leave us, nor forsake us. He will never give us more than we can handle.

I spoke with a woman at the cancer center the other day, while Will was receiving his treatment. She was on her 11th cycle of chemotherapy and was obviously worn down and exhausted. But after talking with her a while, she said that she was very appreciative to have the cancer center because it gave her hope. It started to make me think about the power of hope. Where would we be without God? How could Will and I get through this without His strength to hold us up?

Ecclesiastes 3: A Time for Everything 

1 There is a time for everything,

   and a season for every activity under the heavens:  2 a time to be born

and a time to die,

   a time to plant and a time to uproot,

 3 a time to kill and a time to heal,

   a time to tear down and a time to build,

 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,

   a time to mourn and a time to dance,

 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

 6 a time to search and a time to give up,

   a time to keep and a time to throw away,

 7 a time to tear and a time to mend,

   a time to be silent and a time to speak,

 8 a time to love and a time to hate,

   a time for war and a time for peace.

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For those of you that are struggling this holiday season, I urge you to remember that seasons change and life goes on. Your pain won't last forever and things will get better. Maybe some of you are mourning the loss of a loved one, or holding that hand of you sick husband, or lying in a hospital bed. Maybe some of you are drowning in debt, trying to find work, or worrying about keeping your children fed. Just remember that God is our provider. He is our strength, and He is our HOPE. Hold onto the thought that a new season is just around the corner.

This Christmas Eve I sang in the Christmas choir at church, and we sang the song "Jesus Paid it All". There is something about that song that always makes me cry. However, one verse in particular kept jumping out at me. "I hear the Savior say, 'thy strength indeed is small. Child of weakness watch and pray. Find in me thine all in all." I just kept hearing God remind me that though this season is tough, God is enough to sustain us. He will be our all in all.

After that song, we had our candle light section of the service, where we all light a candle and hold it up in the air. The silence in the room, mixed with the beauty of everyone worshiping God together just brought me to tears. He showed me that each person in that room was going through something different, yet we were all joined together in the same place to worship God. He is the one that we should turn to, no matter what and He is the only one we can depend on to get us through anything. God speaks to us in many ways. We just have to sit and listen. Sometimes we need to be silent to hear his voice.

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Let's take this Christmas season to thank God for all He has done this year and pray that He can use us in even greater ways next year. Remember to tell your friends and family how much you love them and that God is enough to sustain you through each and every season.