Every season has its challenges and joys.
Every season has its challenges and joys.
God has been injecting that truth into my heart with particular intensity this week.
I wish he would stop.
He began this exercise in my character development with a pain in my left side and lower back. It was a familiar issue that usually clears up after 1 or 2 visits to the chiropractor. This time, the pain has gotten worse.
I’ve been hobbling around the house like an old person, counting the hours until my doctor’s appointment tomorrow. Then I remembered that I am getting older.
Now I’m fine with the perks of this season of life. Being old enough to retire and pursue my own interests. Paying 80 bucks for a lifetime pass that gets us into national parks for free. Having coffee with friends when I want.
But age-related hip pain? I am not fine with that, and let God know loud and clear. At which point he injected a dose of truth into my dissatisfied heart.
Every season has its challenges and joys.
I tested the truth by taking a trip down memory lane.
The first stop was the birth of our son. This was a season of joy, followed by a special needs diagnosis and interspersed with challenges inherent to his condition. These continued throughout his early childhood.
Through them all God brought just the right specialists, new medicines he could tolerate appeared on the market, and friends gathered round to bear us up.
The second stop was parenting him as a teenager and into young adulthood. We know now that he was living with undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). That led to many challenges. But watching his intelligence, creativity, humor, and talents develop brought great joy.
In those years God led our son to gifted teachers, safe places, and hard experiences that eventually led to diagnosis and effective treatment.
The third stop began when our son and daughter started adulting in earnest. Our biggest challenge in this ongoing season is keeping our mouths shut and offering advice and assistance only when they ask for it. Another challenge is watching them pick themselves after they fail. This is also a season of great rejoicing when they pick themselves up and persevere. When they ask for help and respect our advice. As they encourage us to develop strong relationships with their kids.
Every day we experience God’s blessings as he shepherds our family toward his will.
The fourth and final stop was the season of walking my mother through her last years of life. She died this past June after a slow and painful deterioration of her body and mind. The challenges were so constant, the joys so fleeting that my siblings and I, along with our spouses, rejoiced as she took her last breath and entered eternal life with Jesus.
Through our tears, we sensed God’s peace and pleasure in the love and care we had given her for so long.
Today I saw a picture I took on Mom’s final, good afternoon. Her eyes were bright, her mind clear, and her smile infectious. Her joy made me cry, and I wondered, “Is the pain in my hip related to the pain in my heart?”
In answer God pointed to the truth he’d made clear at every stop during my walk down memory lane.
Every season has its challenges and joys, and he had been with me through all of them.
Whatever the doctor says tomorrow and however long my pain lasts, I can rest in knowing that he is with me in this season, too.
Written by Jolene Philo
Jolene Philo is the author of several books for the caregiving community. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. She's also the creator and host of the Different Dream website. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and Amazon. See Jane Sing!, the second book in the West River cozy mystery series, which features characters affected by disability, was released in November of 2022.
