Embracing & Celebrating the Right Now

I like to think of the different stages of life as seasons. If you ever think back on times of struggle you’ve endured, isn’t it funny to reflect on how burdened you were feeling in those circumstances? It can feel as if you’re never going to see the light at the end of the tunnel. As you northerners can attest to, it’s much like winter. By the time April rolls around and it’s still snowing, you start to wonder if it’ll ever end…if spring will ever come.

It doesn’t always go that way though, sometimes the season change is more like summer to fall, which is never a bad thing, especially for Floridians like myself. You are soaking up the long days and warm evenings of summer and loving every second. By the time fall rolls around, you welcome the season with open arms because we all know Fall means it’ll start to cool down (even if it’s only a by few degrees) and fall is full of its own excitement in the form of all things pumpkin, candy corn and adorable children dressed up as princesses and super heroes.  

I guess what I’m saying is that just as the seasons change, so do the “seasons” of our life. Going through a difficult time? It will pass. I can’t promise how long it will take, but just like the snow finally starts to melt and spring arrives, the difficult time will pass and you will…bloom (sorry, I had to). I know this because I have experienced that moment of relief when you finally move out of that place.

I’ve been thinking of this a lot lately. Our engagement was such a wonderful time in our lives. It was a period full of long talks about our future, celebrations, hope and absolute joy all leading up to the most memorable day of our lives.

As the excitement and chaos of engagement and wedding planning faded away and we settled into our lives as newlyweds, we’ve found that this season is full of its own experiences and feelings of joy that make it special and unique. We’ll never be newlyweds again and this time in our lives is one we’ll look back on years from now and reminisce about.

Jonathan and I absolutely can’t wait for the day we become parents. We’re planners almost to a fault, the both of us and while at times we think it would be great to know when we’ll be blessed with the gift of a little him or a mini me, we have faith that God has a plan for us and his timing will be impeccable, as always. It’s a gift from Him that we don’t know when. Because it’s in His hands, we are able to focus on soaking in every joyous moment (and to find peace and comfort in any not-so-joyous moments) because before we know it, the leaves could change, the temperature could fall, the flowers could bloom and we’ll be moving on to another season together…a season of dirty diapers and late night feedings, of lullabies and adorable little baby feet, of unconditional love and very little sleep.

We honestly can’t wait for all of it, but in the meantime, I am so completely happy in this moment. I’m so very aware that this time in our lives is so unique and precious. It feels like life is moving at warped speed and I’m making sure I truly appreciate it while I’m living it. Simple things like shopping for patio furniture and negotiating with Jonathan over which color cushions to buy, chatting on our patio about what we need to do to prep for the Easter brunch we’re hosting at our happy home or even simply introducing this wonderful man as my husband…it’s all new and exciting and unique to the right now and I am loving every second.