Don't Miss the Season You're In | Ecclesiastes 3 | Crossroads Daily

what would the audience be screaming at the screen of like, this is what you need to do? And I've thought about that a lot and just practicality with scripture of like, what am I going to look 20 years down the line and be like, I'm so glad that's where I spent my time and those were the people I spent my time with or that's where I gave my life away towards. This is the Crossroads Daily. No experts, no perfect people, just honest conversations about what happens when the Bible shows up in real life. Hey, I'm Chuck. I'm Caroline. I'm Victor. I'm Chris. And we are in Ecclesiastes chapter three. Also known for its presence in footloaves. The mute. Is that where the... Footloaves. Okay, okay. Kevin Bacon, anybody? He reads this in court. Does he read? To get the high school dance back. Oh my gosh. Season for dancing. Season for dancing. Kevin Bacon. Kevin Bacon. Kevin Bacon. Tell him where dancing is. You're sitting here and you want to sing something here and I think this is the time. This is the time for it. It's just not going to sing it all sing.

You can sing. We need singing in the stream. We need it. That's a better singer than I am, so. Oh my gosh. Well, I'm dating myself because I don't even know the band who sings it. But when I read this, I read, I think about turn, turn, turn, turn to everything. I mean, it's like a 60 song, so. Somebody out there is with me. You feel me? I'm getting close to it, so. But yeah, so this is a very, I don't know about a very, but you may have heard this before. Yeah. You know, it's often read, lots of times can be read at funerals. I mean, there's lots of times where this is read, where there's a time for everything under earth. And I wonder, like, what season are you in? What would you say is your season of life right now? Chris, we'll start with you. This is very good. It feels like a season of extreme intentionality with my time of new home, have a baby. It feels like my time has shrunk down and I have to be very selective with my yes towards things. And that feels hard when most of my life, I was single and without a baby and an apartment with a landlord who could fix things for me. And so it's. To have to say no to things is really something I've never had to do before. And it takes a lot more willpower than I thought to say no when it's just, I'm just so accustomed to that. So so intentionality, maybe restriction on time feels like the season you're in. Yeah, 100%. And then putting constantly putting my family in things before myself and when every single second,

I am just itching to fill my time with things that will satisfy me or make me feel better or make me feel rested in some way. So just fighting that desire to be selfishly all the time. Yeah, yeah. Thanks, man. How about you all? What season are you in? Yes, I can I can share. I feel like the nice way of putting it like the nice word I would put on it is like a season of refinement, which actually can feel really painful sometimes. But also I can see the goodness in it too, like I feel like in my work, it's just been like refining my skills as a leader. I've been called to do more harder, more challenging things, pushing me to limits of what I've ever had to do before. And then same, I would say in my motherhood, I have four little kids and as the older ones get older, it's just a new season. We're talking about where babies come from. And like, I don't know, dealing with their feelings in new ways. How do they ask your mom, how does this keep happening? Right, right, right, right. Yeah. Also like these deep social and emotional things they're going through for the first time, where I've just been used to like developing their providing for their physical needs. It's going beyond that now. I would say the same in my marriage, we're getting closer and closer to being married for 10 years, like we're up on the second half of that. And just more time is more learning and it's refining. It's good, but it is really challenging too. Yeah, that's real. Yeah, for me, I think it's the season of trusting that God will do the things that God will do. You know, in that could apply at work for sure. But I think mostly my constant reminder is my kids. My youngest turns eight tomorrow and my oldest will turn 17 in a few weeks. And you know, I had this timer and I know that you probably, well, not probably, you relate to this because yours is, sorry, it's closer. I know. But and it's this constant reminder, They're about to leave the house. And there's not a lot more that I can do outside of right now.

Just being present and listening and because I can't go back, that part changing. So trusting that, okay God, you even want, love these kids more than I do. And I love them a lot. Or you love this ministry more than I do. And I care deeply. And just in that process of enjoying the present time, just being mindful of who I am in front of them. - Yeah, yeah. - And trusting that God will do his thing. - Yeah, yeah, that's good. - What about you Chuck? - Yeah, well, before we hit play, we were kind of reviewing the questions and I chuckled. The reason I chuckled was because I'm in midlife. I am in midlife, I hope I'm not in crisis, but I am definitely in midlife. And here's how that plays out. Like you said, I've got kids that are launching. And that's so, you feel like you're in the young kid phase. - Think of it, yeah. - Yeah, you're never gonna get out of that. But like I'm not in that phase anymore. Like a crazy thing, there was a school event. And for the first time, my wife and I, neither of us went to the school event. My 18 year old drove the other two to the school event. And they did it all, they came home that night. And right, it's just crazy.

The other way where that's playing out from me though, and it probably connects more to this is, I'm reading a really good book right now called From Strength to Strength. It's by a guy named Arthur Brooks. And what he talks about is like, whatever our skills are, they're gonna diminish faster than we think. And when you get to the point where the things that you've relied on in the early part of your career and life just aren't working anymore, you've got two choices. You can keep trying to hit that wall, or you can get on a second curve is what he calls it. And I feel like I am sometime in the next, I don't know, season, years probably, gonna be on a second curve. And I think that looks like things like, I think there's been some platforms that have been more public that I've had that are gonna shift. And I wanna be able to embrace that and step into what feels like more personal ministry with people, more one-on-ones and connecting and being a support to other people is they're growing. And so I think I'm in midlife and I wanna embrace it well and not resist it. And also not resent it, but I feel like that's where I am. Yeah, cool. So we all talked about the seasons that we're in.

What does it look like, we'll just do back around that corner. What does it look like for you to trust God in the season of family building? Like you said, more restrictions on your time. What's it like to trust God in your season? I have noticed that it is far easier for me to trust God when I'm surrounding myself with continuous affirmations about who he is and what he wants from my life. And that could be people like mentors I'm meeting with on a regular basis, people I'm mentoring, guys my age that are running the same life stage as I am young dads, like people who are constantly pressing truth about Jesus into me and then just setting up my time. Like I saw this dumb quote of like, if your life was a movie and you're the main character, what would the audience be screaming at? The screen of like, this is what you need to do. Like, and I've thought about that a lot and just practicality with scripture of like, what am I gonna look 20 years down the line and be like, I'm so glad that's where I spent my time and those are the people I spent my time with or that's where I gave my life away towards. And so I saw another quote that talked about like, those who were disciplined every day looks the same for the undisciplined every year looks the same. And that was like, I'm really mixing. Like my entire 20s, like God was still very present but like it all kind of looked the same.

I was doing the same every year was just kind of the same like same stuff but then the more I started to lean into being very intentional with my time and committed to knowing Jesus on a daily basis. Every day was the same but like God has done so much change in my life and heart. So I guess the answer surrounding myself with people were pushing me towards the person I want to be. And then carving out the time when my baby wakes up early so I got to wake up earlier or I got to like read my Bible and my lunch break something like that, so. I love the answer man and I love that you said, surrounding myself with people who remind me of who God is. That's so good, that's so good. Yeah. Carolyn, how about you? - I think for me, it's probably remembering And so it's not going to be by my own works that I survived this season, right? It's like letting God do what he's going to do and trusting him in it. And I think that I have really good days with that. And then I have days that I slip back into wanting to be the one who's moving all the pieces and making all the calls. And I just, it would just probably look like a release of things when my grip gets tight. And that's my natural lean. And so, yeah.

- I love it. - Living a little more lightly in that. - Living lightly. - Mm-hmm. - For me being present. And being, I can be present, I can be critical. So I think it is being present and really looking for those amazing, wonderful moments. You know, whenever the kids feel proud of something that they accomplished being proud, you know, with them, or they went through something difficult and encouraging them. But also the same, again, it's the parallels in ministry. I can be so critical. This is not good enough. This is, there needs to be better. And it is just taking a step back and enjoying what has happened right now. And then trusting that God takes care of the rest. - I love that. I love that. I think for me, there's a verse that we read today that lands in verse 11. It says, "He has made everything beautiful in its time." And I think that for me in this season of life, it's believing that. - Yeah. - It's believing that in his time, God makes everything beautiful. There are things that I wish I did differently

as a parent, lots of things. And yet as I look at my kids, I can see that over time, God has shaped my kids. He's made them beautiful in his time. And I think the same for my work, that it's okay. God's made things beautiful in his time. And he will make beautiful. Whatever the next seasons are in his time. So I think for me, that's the thing that I lean on and land on in this season. It's like, God, I've gotta trust that. You're still in control, like you said. I don't have to manipulate and turn the knobs. I can trust you. And that there is a time for everything. And God has the ability to make it beautiful in its time. - Yeah, I would say for you, think about the season you're in. How would you name it? What would you describe it as? And what would it look like for you to trust God in this season? And maybe go back through chapter three and snag a verse or snag a word that seems like it really resonates with where you are in your season and have a good conversation with God about that. There might be more he wants to say to you today. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) [MUSIC PLAYING]