Heartprints

The Seasons of Life

Time is our Biggest Resource by Lucille Williams
Sitting in church on a Sunday morning our pastor* said, “Many of you will run out of time
before you run out of money.”
Let that sit for a minute.
It hit hard with me. Even during times of financial struggle I’ve never missed a meal or
not had a warm bed to sleep in.
But time has run out on me in many ways.
Nights of nursing my babies. Holding my treasured blessings and snuggling in the
middle of the night. That season is gone.
Hearing little feet run through my house and seeing black permanent marker on my
hallway walls. Not to mention the little “darling” who carved his name in my living room
coffee table. That season is over and my current coffee table is in mint condition.
The arguments over who gets to tell Mom about their school day first after the end of
the day pick up. Johnny wet his pants today. Mrs. Woodard said she lost her earring and
we all got to crawl on the floor and look for it. “It was so cool Mom!” Melissa doesn’t get
to go trick-or-treating, her parents are so mean! Adam sat on Ryan’s backpack as he
rolled it down the walkway and Ryan didn’t even notice. Those stories are over.
Mom, Dad’s home! Running out to greet hubby to realize my boys were messing with
me and my husband was nowhere in sight. Laughter upon laughter. That certainly
hasn’t happened in a long time. That season is over.
Asking my teen son to pray over dinner while Dad had to work late and then getting a
comedy routine instead. (Prayer finally happened but not after many laughs.) Now that
he’s a pastor that son prays in front of and with many. Those dinner time laugh fests
have ended.
Listening and sharing in my daughter’s “messy” room moving clothing so I can sit down
and hear all that’s in her heart. We still talk today often but moving clothes is not part of
the equation, her house is quite spotless. The season of sitting in clothing sprawled out
all over is now over.
Family camping. Moving into dorm rooms. Prom. Sports games. Dance recitals. Boxing
matches. (Yeah, the now pastor was a champion pugilist.) Family nap time. (Hubby and
I loved those.) Family movie night. Playgrounds. Grocery shopping with kids under toe
making it take three times longer than necessary with a toddler running around in a
cape. Kids loud in the backyard. Laundry laundry and more laundry. These seasons are
over.

And now…
A new beautiful season emerges. Grandkids. Ministry. Seeing others grow in faith.
Empty nest which resembles what our honeymoon felt like. This season is wonderful.
And yet, it will end like all the others.
What’s the lesson?
Embrace each season. Love the people in your life. Embrace change and welcome new
seasons. Be present. Live all out and love all out. Glorify God with each day.
Time will run out most likely before financial resources.
What is most valuable?
Time.
“The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1
John 2:17).

Coordinator of the Heartprints Blog Page: Gaye-Ellen Austin or SonShine has a passion to train people to be successful Bible students, following the words of Paul to his protégé Timothy: “ entrust to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well.” (2 Tim 2:2). She taught 15 years in public schools and 12 years in a Christian school where she was coordinator of the NILD program for learning disabled students. She has taught Precept upon Precept classes and was a discussion group leader for 10+ yrs. in BSF in Daytona Beach. Fl. and Atlanta, GA. Also, Gaye-Ellen is the writer for the https://www.facebook.com/bible.org/ She also has her own personal blog page: https://sonshinesjournal.com/ David is a full time director for Bible.org as well as his secular job. He and Gaye-Ellen along with their son, Dr. Mark Austin, daughter-in-law, Dr. Blanca Austin and granddaughter Christina (https://christinaaustinlopez.com.) live in the Dallas area. Gaye-Ellen's goal is to present Christ and live Christ glorifying God. One of her favorite verses about the role as parents, teachers, and adults for the next generation comes from Psalm 78:4, "but tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord."

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