Season – sea·son – /ˈsēzən/
“any period or time”

This is the last article in a series about the season my family went through for the last year.

Didn’t catch the first three? Here they are:
Part I | Part II | Part III

“I’m ready.”

It was just a few weeks ago.

My wife had the opportunity to share her testimony, which included a large portion of the season I’ve been sharing here with you.

If you know Ciera, you know she’s not one for public speaking. 

But she had a story—a testimony. And it was clear that she was meant to share it.

That didn’t change the fact that she was nervous to speak at a conference in front of hundreds of women.

I called her a couple of hours before the event started, expecting to give some needed encouragement. 

“How are you feeling?”

Her response was quick and clear, “I’m ready.”

And she was. She crushed it. We’re still having women come up to her and saying how much her story meant to them.

That leads me to the fourth and final lesson I’ll be sharing from this season. It’s simple.

Lesson 4: It wasn’t a waste.

When we hit hard times, we wind life down to its essential elements in an effort to survive. 

There’s a feeling of missing out—like life has stalled. Time wasted.

I’m not growing. 
I’m not reading.
I’m barely maintaining my physical health.

The growth is there. It just isn’t the kind that most people can see. It’s not the kind that we can see immediately in ourselves. It shows up later—making us stronger in the dark of night.

Like a tree that hardens in the bitter winter—it emerges stronger for the winds of the Spring.

Marked internally with a ring of suffering.

Nope. Not a waste.

“Whenever you fall, pick something up.”
-Oswald Avery