I’ll be honest — I’m not a huge fan of the changing seasons. Autumn is beautiful, and I love the rhythm it brings… but winter? Freezing cold isn’t my favorite. There’s a part of me that dreams about living somewhere warmer — trading snow and ice for mild winters and sunshine.

But this is where God has us right now.

So each year, I try to find ways to make winter a little softer… a little more bearable… while I wait for spring to show up and breathe life back into the world again. Because the moment the first semi-warm day arrives, we are outside — all day long. Clearing the garden. Raking the leaves that gathered under the plants. Watching the early blooms appear on the trees as we drive to the grocery store.

As spring fades into summer, the rhythm shifts again — this time toward the water. The river beside our home becomes our daily gathering place. The kids splash and swim and look under rocks for crawdads. We found a free boat on Craigslist this year, and I’m already imagining next summer: lake days, laughter, and adventures that carry pieces of my own childhood into theirs.

Some of my favorite seasonal memories are our fire pit evenings. Summer nights roasting marshmallows… sticky fingers and messy smiles… sparks drifting upward into the dimming sky. And when the air grows crisp in autumn, those moments become even sweeter — blankets wrapped around shoulders, cheeks warm from the flames, the glow lighting up the faces I love most.

The seasons shape the pace of our home — slowing us down, drawing us outside, reminding us that life is always moving, always changing.

And just like the Earth has seasons…

so does motherhood and faith.

There are seasons of stretching.

Seasons of rest.

Seasons of waiting.

Seasons of deep growth we can’t always see yet.

I think God designed it that way — to remind us that nothing stays the same forever. Hard seasons pass. Sweet seasons evolve. New beauty always comes.

If another mama is reading this today, here’s what I hope she finds:

Permission to embrace the season you’re in — even if it’s not your favorite.

Permission to look for the small joys while you wait for the next one.

Permission to believe that God is growing something good, even here.

Whatever season your home is living in right now…

there is meaning in it. 🍂✨