My cousins wife told me that there are 3 seasons of life.
- The first season of your life is about learning how to live. This is why it is so important as parents that we teach, model and instruct our children at this early age. They are a sponge taking in all that is around them. They learn kindness, gentleness, gratitude, mercy and forgiveness. They can also learn selfishness, anger, resentment and criticism. They will learn these things whether you purposely teach them or not. They will learn them from the world, their friendships, observing their family, and how they are treated. Something they may not learn without instruction, is life skills. How to cook, how to drive, how to problem solve, just to name a few.
- The second season of life is about living what you learned. This is where you are on your own and all the things you have learned prior come into play. The things you believed as a child will craft your decisions and tell you how to navigate the world. You may be ill equipped to face the challenges of the world, or you may have a strong foundation. But you will drawn from the pool of what you know.
- The third and final season of your life is about giving away what you know. At this stage of life we start to give away our possessions. Things we have accumulated and used lose their usefulness to us and we want to pass them on to someone who needs them. We become Grandparents and start to share our stories of life, lessons learned and how thankful we are. We give away our time. We spend more time with people we love, or more time volunteering and serving. We know what it was like to be a young single mom struggling, and we come alongside these moms and offer encouragement.
These seasons of life struck a chord with me. It's so obvious and yet something we never really think about. What season are you in right now? Can you identify with these? Will knowing this change your perspective?