Like nature, our lives move in seasons — each one with a purpose, each one with its own beauty.
The Lessons Nature Offers
When we study the natural world — plants, trees, flowers, and the cycle of nature — we can gain profound insight and wisdom into how to effectively live our lives.
Nature’s rhythms and patterns are not just physical but are wonderfully metaphorical, offering guidance on growth, patience, and timing.
I’ve been thinking recently about the growth in different seasons and what fruits or vegetables can grow in certain seasons and climates. These plants thrive because the conditions are right: the temperature, the soil, and the amount of sunlight.
The other day, my youngest daughter asked if we could grow an orange tree in our garden (here in Ontario)— like the ones Yayo (My dad) has in Portugal. I smiled as we talked about how orange trees need a warmer climate to truly thrive, and the different types of things that can grow in different countries.
As I was telling her how plants cannot grow when placed in the wrong season or climate, they were specifically created to succeed in their perfect season, it made me think so much of life.
If we take that same idea and think of seasons in our lives — and the climates we find ourselves in during each season — we can reflect on what can grow and flourish in the current moment that we are living in.
A cherry tree doesn’t produce fruit in the dead of winter — but that doesn’t mean it’s failing. So, if we are in a season where one of our “fruits” — be it a talent, a skill, or a phase of life — isn’t flourishing, it may not be the wrong thing; it may just be the wrong season.
1.) Recognizing Your Current Season
When we take stock of what’s flourishing and what’s struggling in our lives, we begin to see what’s truly in season right now.
Can you look at your life and pinpoint what seems to be growing, expanding, and flourishing in a way that indicates it is the right season? And can you take a step back and see that maybe you’re trying to force something to bloom that is perfect for the next season but not this one?
Can you take a step back and see that maybe you’re trying to force something to bloom that is perfect for the next season, but not this one?
Some seasons are undeniably hard. They can feel endless — like you’re stuck, in the dark, or losing ground instead of gaining it. These seasons may not look or feel fruitful, and it’s easy to wonder if you’re failing or falling behind.
But the truth is, even in the hardest seasons, something is happening beneath the surface. These are often the times when the deepest roots are formed. Keep going. It’s not the end — it’s just a season, and all seasons change.
2.) My Season of Stretching and Surrender
This realization has come alive in my journey many times, and in many seasons. I’m currently in what I can only describe as a layered season — one that involves balancing life as a wife with the growth of a business and raising two daughters (one of whom has special needs that comes with medical complexities and hospital visits that on their own feel they should fill a life).
We also homeschool, which brings its own richness to our lives, but also busyness and challenges as well.
There are times I feel stretched between dreams and duties, pulled in opposite directions, like too many things are slipping through the cracks. In those moments, I remind myself that not everything is meant for a single season.
Life unfolds in layers, and each season carries its own assignments. Remembering this allows me to release the pressure to do everything all at once.
Life unfolds in layers, and each season carries its own assignments. Remembering this allows me to release the pressure to do everything all at once.
That shift is empowering, because it reframes the tension. A season can be demanding yet still remain purposeful. Some things are meant to take root now, while others will wait quietly until their time to be planted, nurtured, and flourish later — and that’s okay.
3.) Embracing the Rhythms of Growth
Think of a garden. Each plant has its own timeline and its own needs. Some plants need the full light of summer, while others thrive in the cooler, shadier, wetter months. Just as gardeners study and respect these needs, we too can respect our personal seasons.
In spring, we might find ourselves in a period of new beginnings and growth, a time to start new projects and explore new ideas.
Summer can represent a time of full activity, where our efforts bear fruit, and we see the results of our hard work.
Autumn might be a season of harvest, where we gather the fruits of our labor, reflect, and prepare for the quieter times ahead.
Winter can be a season of rest, reflection, and planning, a time to regenerate and prepare for the growth that spring will bring.
The season you’re in might be motherhood — with all its phases — or a time of discovery when you’re exploring your passions and learning who you are becoming. It could be a season of stretching toward a long-held dream or one of slowing down and allowing rest to do its quiet work.
You might be healing, learning, or navigating a transition where change is your constant companion. Whatever your season, it holds its own kind of beauty and growth.
Embracing the rhythm means trusting that every stage of life has purpose, even when it feels dark, slow, unseen or difficult. While no one is volunteering for difficult places, we can even find purpose in pain.
4.) Fresh Perspective | Trusting the Timing of Life
Life is full of chapters, stories and seasons. By understanding and respecting the season we’re in, we can nurture the right aspects of our lives at the right time.
I believe this awareness helps us avoid frustration and disappointment — not by forcing something before its time, but by recognizing that each season carries its own purpose and beauty. As in nature, every season of life is essential for overall growth and balance.
This doesn’t mean we stop dreaming or reaching toward what’s ahead. Being present doesn’t require us to abandon our goals — it simply helps us move forward with greater clarity and peace.
Looking to the future while preparing for the chapters we hope for is part of tending the soil of our lives. Vision and faith belong together, especially when they are paired with patience.
Vision and faith belong together, especially when they are paired with patience.
Learning to lean into the patience required to wait for the right season — rather than giving up because something seems wrong when it’s simply not the time — is an invaluable virtue.
Sometimes, the deepest peace comes from trusting that God’s timing is always perfect, even when it unfolds differently than we expected.
Identifying what belongs to our present moment (and what does not) gives us the ability to flourish in every season. Whether that means its a season of outward movement, or inward growth — if we are doing what is right for us right now, we know we are never truly at a standstill (even when movement is invisible).
When we honour the moment we’re in, whether it’s a time of visible progress or invisible growth, we step into alignment with our life’s rhythm.
Movement doesn’t always look like motion; sometimes, it’s in the stillness that the deepest roots are formed.
Movement doesn’t always look like motion; sometimes, it’s in the stillness that the deepest roots are formed.
Each season has its own wisdom, and together, they create a life rich in purpose, balance, and quiet beauty. Trusting the timing of our lives allows us to thrive — right where we are.
Together, all seasons and chapters create a beautifully blooming life — rich with ever-ripening fruit.
Here’s perhaps the most important truth: the freedom we long for is often found not in striving to keep up, but in releasing what doesn’t belong to this season.
Focusing on what’s important in the right season brings clarity to both mind and spirit. Our hearts and lives can so easily become like overcrowded gardens, where everything is competing for space. Pruning may feel uncomfortable, even painful at times, but it is the very act that allows new life to flourish and beauty to thrive.
