The season of..."this sucks".

I've got to be raw for a moment. Honesty and rawness? Not the same.

Nope. Rawness...isn't fun to write about.

This season of life I'm currently in? It sucks. Yes. It does. There, I said it.

I mean, sometimes -life just sucks. Now yes, there's been lot's of good woven in-between the suckiness [btw, if that word offends, sorry? get over it? stop reading?] but the general aroma of 2010 so far has been...this sucks.

So what do you do when life...sucks? Well, I've been asking that question this morning because let's face it...we all have seasons of life like this.

It would be easy for the holier-than-thou person [not that ANY of those read this blog] to say something like, "Well, you are just not finding favor with God right now." or to ask, "Is there some type of un-confessed sin in your life that's keeping you from great things?" But, I just don't comprehend judgemental questions or statements like that very well.

Perspective tells me that this is not a season of great tragedy or horrific circumstances -I get that. Emotions tell me that pain and heartache is sometimes just a part of life -I get that too.

But I think what you and I fail to realize is, typically when life sucks, it's because things are just not going our way. Yes, I'd prefer my mom not have cancer. I'd prefer my husband to be home more. I'd prefer to be celebrating my 10-year anniversary in Hawaii rather than at the car repair shop.

When it feels like things are just so out of control and when you can't do a whole lot about the things...then it sucks.

And I really think that the majority of depression in women arrives from a season of "this sucks". It's hard to see the end. It's hard to feel the greatness coming. It's hard to let go of control and allow the world around us to continue to spin -without our permission.[wink]

But I've begun to see that the season of "this sucks" can be one of the greatest seasons of growth spiritually in our lives. Why? Because it allows for God to work in new circumstances.

You can't teach a woman a new destiny in an old purpose.

What do I mean by that?

Have you ever heard someone say, "I'm praying for God to do a new thing in my life." but then...they remain exactly where they are at in life? They do nothing new...they move in no new direction? How did that "new thing" work out for them? I'm not sure too well.

Ezekiel 36:26 says, "I'll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I'll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that's God-willed, not self-willed."

The truth is, the season of "this sucks" is really a dawning of a new purpose. It's really God doing what He says in this verse above, He replaces the old with something new. Him. Not us.

But how many of us [including myself] stomp our feet and throw our fits and refuse to move into the new purpose? Because the new purpose? It seems to suck. It's not what we are used to or even like. And then, we end right back up on top of the mountain of...defeat.

We like to think of a new thing as something exciting, engaging and that which makes us giddy. I really think those feelings are temporary. Refinement is permanent. And permanent is...purposeful.

As much as I hate to say this...I believe that God is doing a new-thing in me and many of my sister's in Christ. But it has nothing to do with a prize at hand. And I think for the first time in my life, I can really say it's new because...it's hurts. It's been painful. And, it's been a time for a lot of refinement -for all of us.

But I know through it all, it will bring a greater purpose than we can even see, right now.

That's a word I want in my life. Purpose. Enough with the foolishness already, bring on the purpose! And if getting to that point means my life sucking just a bit? Then, that's a part of the walk and walking with Jesus doesn't mean taking the short-cut.

The seasons of life will take us through many routes to purpose. The pathway to purpose isn't the same for everyone. And sometimes it may seem very unclear as to what God is doing. But if we will trust, hang on and believe that every step is leading us into a purposeful destiny, it will be a lot easier to walk through the seasons of "this sucks". [smiles]

For more encouragement to "do-life" with other's, visit Rachel Olsen's devotional blog carnival today! Click here.