Seasons and seasoning
Welcome to another Friday and these days for many people there are no differences between the week and the weekend. There have been very many theories, saying that we should not be under lock down because the economy will suffer immeasurably. Some say if we don’t lock down many people will die. Some say there are many more people dying from other things and ailments besides COVID-19.
Some say the virus is man-made. Some say it was naturally occurring in animals and when man ingested the animal it was passed to man. Some say there is nothing like a virus. Some say it signifies the end of the world and Jesus is coming. One thing we can all agree is that the world is very noisy right now and we don’t know who to believe or rely on.
The one sure thing is that we can be sure about is that this is yet another season. Below is one of my blog posts from over three years ago. Other posts can be found at catapultbylb.wordpress.com.
The wisest man who ever lived once said that to everything there is a time and a season. I am not going to write yet again about what season of life you are in. (Even though we must always know what season of life we are in. Is it a time to rest, a time to train, a time to jump, a time to sleep etc)?
What is seasoning? When I looked it up, I got, “salt, herbs, or spices added to food to enhance the flavour and also the process of adjusting the moisture content of wood to make it more suitable for use as timber”. Wiki confirms that “to season and to flavour are not the same thing”. This means some seasoning enhance the already existing flavour while some actually change the flavour (for the better usually but sometimes if not properly used, for the worse).
Today my short blog post is to say the seasons of our lives are like seasoning, both to add flavour, enhance flavour, change the flavour and could be a process of making us more suitable for use.
In a couple of weeks, we enter the final quarter of this year. Depending on the part of the world you are in. The physical season enhances our lives on many levels, some being from a planting and harvesting point of view. Planting is work and harvesting is work but they both lead to gain at the end of the day. Is your current season enhancing your life or more importantly the lives of those near or far from you?
When the season changes, again depending on what part of the world you are in, you need to change your wardrobe and that enhances the lives of many people up and down the food chain, be it cotton pickers, leather tanners, designers or shop owners.
Look back on the seasons you have been through this year. Were you at any time being prepared for use in any way, shape or manner? Did you recognise when the preparation was taking place or did you spend all the time moaning and complaining, totally oblivious to the workings of God?
There is also what is called a season of response. A time when we need to respond to the seasoning of the seasons in our lives. A quick story here...., I am sure you have been waiting for the story. There was once a young boy who got up to no good with all the girls in town. Tsk tsk tsk not good at all. However, he got arrested by PP and completely turned his life around. (this happens when Prince of Peace enters your life).
That season of philandering was just a seasoning preparing him. The time when PP came into his life and turned it around and he accepted was a season of response. If he had not responded positively, he would have missed this season of response. His life is now impacting young men so they don’t walk the philandering road like he did.
I am not going to take up too much of your time today. Some key questions. Are your seasons enhancing flavour, actually adding flavour or preparing you for......... (fill in the gap)
Also, how long have you been in this season? Have you missed the season of response? If you miss a season of response, does that mean I lose out completely?
I have good news! You don’t completely lose out; it may just take you longer to get to your destination. Also, there is the possibility that you have missed the season of response as sometimes the season goes on for quite a while and it may seem to the undiscerning that one has missed the season of response.
Coming back to the fact that we will be entering the last three months of this year. Be discerning and end the year with a bang. Have fun also. Don’t let the seasons make you ill, no matter what it throws at you. What does not kill is supposed to make you stronger. Again, without repeating myself too often, it is either enhancing your life, adding flavour to your life or preparing you for what is next.
By the way, if the season you are being prepared for is something great it may go on for longer than seems reasonable. Be patient and do the time, great things are around the corner
Also, if you are not learning your lessons quickly, I am sure you know that the season may take some time. By the way, if you realise your season is not doing any of the above go back to the drawing board or should I say go back to Almighty.
I promised the post would be short and I hope it has been sweet.
On another note my company Box and Cedar are starting a career seminar series called TTBI, Talks That Break Inertia. It is titled “Down Sizing, Up Sizing, Right Sizing, are you a victim or victor”. Please ask your staff to attend. Please register at https://bit.ly/2t8d3wu.
Have a great weekend.