Times and Seasons

by Danna Shirley
This is a devotion written to go along with a 21-day fast at my church for 2018; the theme was "For Such a Time as This"

The beginning of this new year may be a new season in your life—a new baby, a marriage, or maybe a divorce or the loss of a loved one—so many times and seasons throughout our years; some happy, some sad.

I am reminded of starting my life as a Navy bride. I had never flown in an airplane before I took my first flight (1968) to meet my new husband, Ron, and I haven’t stopped flying since.

Every set of orders, every move to a new destination, brought a season of change and learning. On one of those moves, twelve years into our marriage, we became new creations in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah!

Over the years, we crisscrossed the United States from California to New Jersey, Florida to Washington State, as well as Bermuda, the Philippines, and Japan. What an adventure! And in every location God advanced my learning in this respect . . . I knew I was leaving behind friends and sometimes even family, but I also knew God’s faithfulness would replace them with a season of new friendships and an opportunity for ministry—for me to receive and for me to give. God knew I would need these people to sow into my life for such a time . . . until the next move, the next season, the next life lesson. And along the way I was growing and maturing.

In Florida, Ron faced a problem with a prescribed medication that prevented his training in the centrifuge. This moved him from the space program to an aircraft carrier. In the Philippines, a health issue developed that brought a medical discharge and made it impossible for him to reach the goal he had pursued since he was seventeen. He had moved through the ranks as an enlisted Seaman to become a Commissioned Officer and now the remaining eight years of his Naval career were being thwarted by this illness. Dwelling on what was lost, however, was futile. Looking forward to what new thing God had for us was so much better and illuminated our understanding . . . for salvation came after these two events. Why? Because the disappointment of what was left behind and the unknown of what was ahead brought us to a place of seeking God and our ultimate surrender to His will for our lives.  

Losing my husband of thirty-four years to pneumonia at age fifty-six was the deepest loss of my life, beyond anything I’ve ever had to endure. My life changed in an instant. There was no prolonged illness, no gradual preparation for the end. One night he was with me, the next morning he was gone.

Of course, I would rather have my husband back but I realize the events in my life in these last fourteen years would have never happened as they have if we were still together. I would not have moved to Tennessee to be near my daughter and granddaughters, I would not have moved to California for two years to help my sister care for her husband and my mother, and I would not be a member of Bartlett First Assembly with my brothers and sisters here.

God has a plan and purpose for each of us as we walk through the peaks and pitfalls of our lives. I am thankful God has been with me through them all . . .  for such a time as this!