Which season are you sitting in, Kim?

We all have a season we are in. Perhaps you are in a transition. Maybe it feels you are living in all the seasons at the same time.  We all have something to bring to the table. Dinner would be boring if all we brought the same thing. If you are in fall, bring some pumpkins and pears! If you are in winter, bring some potatoes and carrots! If you are in spring, bring some peas and radishes! If you are in summer, bring some sweet corn and berries! Look at all the colors, textures and nutrients that come with each season and we can share them around one table, creating something beautiful together.

If I look at my own life, I see several seasons unfolding at once. My physical therapy work feels more like Autumn, continuing to bear fruit as I serve patients, coworkers, and students. My coaching business is more in spring, growing from a new shoot, looking to take the next faithful step as it continues to climb. My spiritual life is moving into summer, looking at how I can serve others in a new unique way through the church and beyond. As for my personal life, it is frozen in winter right now. Covered by snow, quietly recovering and putting down deeper roots for what is yet to come. All have their place right now in my life. My PT fall has given birth to my coaching spring. My personal winter is quietly nourishing my spiritual summer.

Together, these seasons are shaping me into someone uniquely equipped to love and serve the people God places in my path.

Four Season Table

Today I am inviting you to pull up a chair. Come to the table we've been preparing together all month.

You can be:

• grieving and hopeful,
• resting and growing,
• letting go and receiving,
• flourishing in one area while winter exists in another.

Life isn't always neatly divided into four seasons.

Sometimes we're experiencing all four at once.

None of these seasons is better than another. Each has something to teach us, and each has something to offer those around us. We can support one another from our seasons past or walk along with you in a current season, spur you on into a new season and celebrate a flourishing season. We are not meant to live alone, but in community.

Our seasons may even differ across the different parts of our lives. Your work season might be like a new shoot emerging in spring. Your marriage might be enjoying a season of harvest as retirement opens the door to travel, volunteering, or new adventures together. Your spiritual life might be rooting, learning to trust and surrender underground. Your parenting season might be in full summer swing with enjoying the age and stage of your kids and the things you do together.

I know for a fact that I would not be able to walk through this season without God, my church and my friends and family. They are there to hold me up when I don’t have the strength in the tough places. They hold my hand and walk with me in the uncertain places. They gently push me forward into new places. And they celebrate with me in the fun places.

Review. Remember. Respect. Respond.

• Review – What current season(s) are you in?
• Remember – What seasons past do you need to recall or not forget, so you can not repeat them or support  someone else in that season?
• Respect – What are the season(s) of others in your life? How does that impact your relationships?
• Respond – What is one faithful step you can take into your next season?

What's Next:

Life changes constantly and unexpectedly. And while I have many of my seasons established, due to my personal winter season I am feeling led to step back for a season from my personal goal of publishing weekly newsletters. I need time to root more deeply, rest well, and be restored so that I'll be ready for whatever God has next. Honestly, I am not sure exactly what that will look like yet.

Keep Connecting:

I want you to know that I am still available to connect when your season is right. You can reach out to me for a virtual coffee chat and if I happen to hit the road, perhaps I'll pass through your area and we can meet for a local coffee chat at a place you like. I would love to hear from you either way. After all, every good table begins with a conversation. You can reply to this email and let me know how you are doing, what’s new, where you are or share some nature pics of your gardens, pets or families.

"Come to the Table"

Partial lyrics from the Sidewalk Prophets

To the thief and to the doubter

To the hero and coward

The prisoner and the soldier

To the young and to the older

All who hunger, all who thirst

All the last and all the first

All the paupers and the princes

All who fail, you’ve been forgiven

All who dream and all who suffer

All who loved and lost another

All the chained and all the free

All who follow, all who lead

Anyone who’s been let down

All the lost, you have been found

All who’ve been labeled right or wrong

To everyone who hears this song

Come to the table

Closing Reflection:

Whatever season you find yourself in today, know this: there is a place for you at the table. Whether you're releasing, resting, growing, or harvesting, you don't have to walk through it alone. We all have something to receive, and we all have something to offer.

• 🍂 Autumn – What is God inviting you to release?
• ❄️ Winter – Where do you need rest?
• 🌱 Spring – Where is new life beginning?
• ☀️ Summer – What fruit are you being called to share?

With blessings for your season,

Kim

Hope and Healing Lifestyle Coach

kim@hopeandhealinglifestyle.com