As this year fades away to bring in 2022, I have had two questions that have consistently occupied my mind for the majority of 2021. These questions are: why does it seem when your life is going well and is in a season of blessing, your closest loved ones are going through some of the darkest times they have experienced in this life? Why does it seem the complete opposite when you are the one encountering those dark times?
After a lot of quiet time, I think I may have a decent answer.
I am no stranger to loss, disappointment, sorrow, failure, hopelessness, and even just being in a period where it feels like you are spinning your wheels to only stay stuck in the mud. Each time I have experienced a difficult season in this life, it is when I have seen most everyone around me flourishing, whether it be flourishing in life milestones to just seemingly small day-to-day triumphs. During these difficult seasons, I would always wonder what was wrong with me. I even started to believe I was stuck with a rain cloud over my head, while those around me were meant to enjoy sunny skies.
As you know, those difficult seasons do not last forever. No matter how dark and unforgiving, the sun eventually shows back up, the rain stops, and the clouds drift away. There may even be a rainbow.
Nonetheless, just as you are beginning to trust in this new season, a season of blessing, and allow yourself to be fully immersed in it, you watch those around you begin to see dark skies.
You feel guilty for wanting to soak in the peace this new season has brought you, while those you care about are now experiencing sorrow and pain.
As this year went on and I pondered answers to the two questions above, I finally realized something important:
Maybe we do not experience seasons of blessings at the same time as those around us because we are meant to take the strength we obtain during our season of blessing to be there for others when they have no strength to carry on during their difficult season. Maybe we are supposed to lend our best umbrella to the loved one going through one of life’s unforgiving storms. After all, we lose a personal use for it when we are in a season of blessing. Maybe it is so we can be vulnerable and open to receiving help from our flourishing loved ones when we are the one going through a difficult season. Maybe it is so we can learn to surround ourselves with those who care about us and are there for us during both.
Even though I know this answer to the two questions above is not perfect, it has made me rethink how I use my time during both a season of blessing and a difficult one. Above all, I do not believe we are meant to face this life alone. I will always choose to lend my umbrella.
