God Uses the Hard Seasons

The thought of how God has stepped into my life and put me through a season where I have learned a lot is, to be honest, overwhelming.

It seems appropriate to start at the beginning, where I first became a Christian. 4 years ago, I entered into a relationship thinking that I was going to be surprised with how we would progress. I was never one to take risks, and this seemed like a great opportunity. This leap of faith lead to a two-year relationship that was unhealthy. As I said before, I thought I was going to be surprised with our relationship, which I was.

But it wasn't the kind of surprise I had hoped for. This was a man who claimed to have such a beautiful, fulfilling, and continuous relationship with the Lord, which I had never experienced. So, naturally, I assumed he would lead me to Him. After two years, I came out of that relationship thinking that nothing was achieved except for pain and vulnerability.

It wasn't until after the fact that I had realized that there was one good thing that came from that two-year experience: I met God. To this day I still am understanding how He brought me through my most difficult season yet. God brought me through that season to bring me closer to Him and to understand that He was always with me even in the darkest times; He was with me when I wanted Him to do His worst.  

He brought me strength and hope for something way better than I had planned for myself, and He continues to show me everyday that He's got something big, beautiful, and bountiful for me. Although those two years were the hardest years I've ever experienced, I am thankful for them.

It was not until almost a year later that I realized God will call us into uncomfortable situations. He will give us these hard seasons in order to bring us closer to Him, and that never resonated with me until a while after the fact.

Today, I continue to understand more and more about Christ our Savior through the challenges and blessings He presents to me. In the moments where I am alone and thinking about the season He has me in, I realize how essential and important it is to experience those rough seasons, because there is one thing that is always certain through those seasons: they bind us tighter to God.