What chapter are you in ‘Your Book’?

The inspiration for this week’s post came as I walked out of my front door and spotted one of my plants with little buds that signalled life.

Through the winter months, my garden looks dire, dreary and uninspiring. Some plants look like dried twigs and it’s very tempting to give up on them.

One year, I told my gardener that we needed to uproot a plant as it was dead but he smiled and told me it was still fine and we should just wait and see. He pruned the plant which was painful to watch and true to form, the hydrangea came back to life looking as beautiful as ever.

This makes me think of our lives as being more than snapshots of events. We often see each other’s lives in moments or based on time periods and very rarely do we see the totality of a person’s life.

When we look at ourselves and others, what do we see? Do we see a failure or a disappointment? Perhaps you see an unsuccessful career, a fading glory or a failing business? Maybe you see a successful career, marriage and family.

Regardless of what we see, we need to know that life can be likened to reading a chapter in a book, watching a clip from a movie or seeing a plant in a particular season.

So, what does this mean for me and for you?

Don’t give up on yourself

For me it means hope and it encourages me to never give up because what appears dead today can be alive tomorrow. This can be a dream, career, marriage, relationship, business and your faith. Even when my plants look dead, the potential for life is still there though hidden to my natural eyes.

Don’t judge isolated moments or seasons

It reminds me never to judge anyone based on the season they are in. Perhaps things aren’t great today, but it can and will turn around. We need to remember that a blip is just a blip and it doesn’t mean it’s over.

Don’t give up on others

I’m encouraged not to give up on others. We need to learn to see beyond an event in a person’s life, see past a poor choice or bad decision they’ve made and help them to see so they don’t give into despair. I am sure we all know at least one person who appeared to miss it big time based on a mistake but that’s not always the end of the story.

I have seen teenage mothers go back to university and get their qualifications, wayward sons come back home and rebuild their lives, ex-convicts starting all over again and moving on to have successful careers and family. I have also seen broken relationships healed and restored.

Don’t be envious or jealous of others

Finally, it tells me never to be envious or jealous of anyone’s achievements. There is a very good chance that we came into a person’s life when they’ve got over their rocky phase or just past their dry season. We miss out on all their bad stuff and wonder why their life is so good, easy or successful.

The reality is that we only see a small part of a person’s story but we can easily find ourselves wondering why someone got offered an opportunity instead of us. We forget they might have got their training and experience elsewhere, so they haven’t stolen our opportunities. They have merely walked into their own opportunity which for them may have been a long time coming.

My challenge to self and to others is to remember that there are many seasons in life, many chapters in a book and life is made up of many stories and moments.

Don’t despair especially when all you can see is dead twig. There’s life yet and you just need to wait for the right season. Keep nourishing and nurturing yourself and others in the meantime.

When your good time comes, celebrate and enjoy it. When it’s your dry season, wait it out patiently and look forward to a positive change with expectation. In the same way, celebrate other people’s good times and be understanding of their bad times. Do what you can in each season to keep growing.

Thank you for stopping by and please share this with someone. See you next week.