When Losing is Winning

The Invitation: Every season of life holds beauty, but when the time for a new season comes, sometimes we resist or resent it. We’re not ready for the change. It arrives unexpectedly and we’re content with what we know and where we are. Or we’re sad about what we’re losing.

Yet what would the trees miss out on by not shedding their leaves? Getting through the winter would be questionable because losing leaves enables trees to conserve water and energy. Photosynthesis, seed production, food, and rest are all tied into the purpose of seasons for trees.

Seasons in our lives might not be as predictable as a tree’s. An empty nest or retirement are expected, but who saw a season of quarantine coming?

Are we willing to trust God when a new season arrives? Just as trees lose their leaves in the fall in order to prepare for new growth, there are things each person needs to lose or lay down in order to be ready for growth. Is there a way of thinking or acting you need to lose or put away today? It may be the key to winning–or thriving–in this season and the next.

When I was a child,
I spoke as a child,
I understood as a child,
I thought as a child:
but when I became a man,
I put away childish things.
–1 Corinthians 13:11 (NKJ)

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
–1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)

My Response: Thank you, Lord, for continually inviting me to live in more freedom and maturity than I know today. Just as healthy trees lose their leaves in the fall, is there a way of thinking or acting that I need to lose or put away to prepare for the next season? (It may be something like regret, disappointment, an unhealthy behavior, my own plan, etc.)

Thank you for empowering me to do so. Give me a picture of what You have in exchange for my “loss.”

Lord, You have won the victory on my behalf. I receive it.