Fall reflection

Seasons Change—
And So Do We

October 2026

Everyone has a favorite season. Mine is fall.

It is not too hot and not too cold—it is just right. The air feels different, the leaves begin to change, and there is something about fall that makes everything feel a little cozier.

Even as a kid, I looked forward to fall—but for different reasons. Fall meant the holiday season was right around the corner: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I still look forward to the holidays. They just mean something different to me now than they did when I was a kid.

There was also a time when I looked forward to summer. Summer meant no school, sleeping later, and a break from the normal routine. Now, summer mostly means high temperatures, high electricity bills, and wondering if I can step outside without immediately melting. Funny how our perspective changes with time.

Life has seasons too.

There are seasons we enjoy and want to hold onto a little longer. Then there are seasons we cannot wait to get out of. Some seasons feel like summer in the South: long, exhausting, and way too hot. You find yourself asking, Is this ever going to end? When am I going to get some relief? How am I going to make it through this season emotionally, physically, or financially?

But just like the seasons outside, the seasons in our lives will come whether we are ready for them or not.

Ecclesiastes 3 tells us there is a time for everything: a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to plant and a time to harvest. God is not surprised by the changing seasons of our lives. He understands that some will hold joyful moments and some will be painful. He does not tell us that every season will feel good—but He does promise that no season is unnoticed by Him.

The hard seasons do not last forever. The good seasons are gifts to be received and enjoyed. Every season has a purpose, even when we cannot see it in the moment.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God “has made everything beautiful in its time.” That does not mean everything we go through is beautiful. Some things are heartbreaking, unfair, and painful. But God can still bring beauty, growth, wisdom, and purpose from the things we never would have chosen.

Just as nature has different seasons, so do we. We cannot always be in a season of producing, growing, or harvesting. Sometimes we need a season of rest. Sometimes we need to wait. Sometimes we are planting seeds and cannot yet see what God is growing beneath the surface. And sometimes, by His grace, we get to reap something beautiful.

Every season I have been through has shaped me into the person I am today. Could I have gone without many of those phases of my life? Absolutely. Do I wish I could have held onto some of the good seasons a little longer? Yes.

But either way, we come out knowing more than we did before. Sometimes we come out stronger. Sometimes we come out softer, wiser, or more compassionate toward someone else walking through a hard season.

God does not rush our seasons, and He does not waste them. Daniel 2:21 reminds us that He changes times and seasons. He is still God in the waiting, in the growing, in the grieving, and in the joy.

And one day, when I get to Heaven, I am hoping it feels a little like fall all the time.