Embracing Seasonal Blessings
“A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;” (Eccl. 3:6 ESV).
I serve in youth ministry at our church, and this summer, we went through the book of Acts, tackling a chapter or two each week. Something I love happened one week: a Scripture stood out to me in a new and different way. It wasn’t even when the pastor talked about it that it hit me, but when we moved to life groups and I talked about it with my seventh-grade girls. We talked about a seasonal blessing.
We were reading in Acts chapter 8, specifically the story of Philip and the Ethiopian in Acts 8:40. To sum up the story, an angel tells Philip to go for a walk. On his walk, he encounters an Ethiopian eunuch on a desert road. When Philip reaches him, the eunuch is reading the book of Isaiah, and Philip asks him if he understands what he is reading. The eunuch doesn’t understand and asks Philip to explain it to him. Philip tells the eunuch about the good news of Jesus, and the eunuch decides he wants to get baptized. Philip baptizes the eunuch in some nearby water.
Now let’s pick up with Scripture:
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. (Acts 8:39-40 NIV)
When I was talking to my girls about this passage, I couldn’t get the fact out of my head that the angel purposefully led Philip there, Philip explained the good news and baptized the eunuch, and then the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. Basically, “You did what I needed you to do, so let me get you to the next assignment.”
From the eunuch’s perspective, Scripture says he did not see Philip again but kept on rejoicing. I’m sure he was a little freaked out when Philip just disappeared. Philip and the eunuch didn’t have a long time with each other, but surely Philip was a huge blessing to the eunuch: a seasonal blessing.
I got my life group talking about seasonal blessings: a person, an event, or something anything else that had a temporary place in their lives and which they knew was a blessing from the Lord. One girl shared about a foster child who had lived with her family; another mentioned a friend who had brought her to youth group, but was no longer attending herself, and so on.
Sometimes, in the moment, it is hard to see a seasonal blessing as it is occurring. Sometimes it takes the season ending in order to see what a gift it was to you. And other times, we recognize it for what it is, knowing it was only meant for a season, and that now it is time to let it go.
A couple of years ago, amid the world being shut down, I was given the gift of a seasonal blessing. I knew it would only be seasonal, but I also knew it was a huge blessing. Now the world is mostly back to normal, and I know it is time to let go of my blessing. Just as it was a blessing to me, I know it can and will be a blessing to someone else as well—like Philip, who left the eunuch to keep preaching the gospel in other towns. Even though his time of being a blessing to the eunuch was over, it didn’t mean he was done being a blessing.
Another point of the conversation I had with my girls was how we are sometimes the blessing God uses in others’ lives. Sometimes we will be the Philip in the eunuch’s life, and we will be able to share the good news of Jesus with others.
Dear heavenly Father, thank you so much for the seasonal blessings you have brought into my life. You are the alpha and omega, and you know our needs even before we do. You are our great provider! Lord, just as Philip was so willing to do as you asked, help me be obedient in following your direction when you ask me to be a blessing to someone else. Thank you for your lovingkindness to me. In the powerful and precious name of Jesus, Amen.
Scripture for Reflection
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace. (Eccl. 3:1 -8 NIV)
Reach for More
While a seasonal blessing is usually for a short time, how about being a blessing to someone today. How can you bless someone today? Don’t wait for an invitation—go and do it!
is living the full life with her husband, Jeff, four kids, and a dog in Metro Detroit. Heather enjoys reading, writing, coffee-ing, and serving in youth ministry. She was born a Jersey girl and feels most at home on a beach. She is the host of the monthly link-up, Share Four Somethings. You can join Heather on the journey to living the full life at www.heathergerwing.com.
Photograph © Tim Wildsmith, used with permission
