Written By: Christina Rich
In the last nine months, I’ve seen the birth of my first grandson and the death of my husband only three weeks later. It appears I’ve been playing the lead character to Solomon’s Ecclesiastics 3, which should come as no surprise since I had innocently, yet wholeheartedly asked God to grant me the wisdom of Solomon. A young mother of four small children, I believed that was the answer to successful parenting and wifing. Twenty-plus years later, even though I’ve experienced some pain and disappointment, I do not regret that prayer.
“There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and event or purpose under heaven—” Ecclesiastes 3:1
One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned over the years is that no matter what our season, no matter what our circumstances, no matter the goodness, no matter the badness, no matter the births, no matter the deaths, no matter the planting or the uprooting, the killing and the healing, no matter the tearing down or the building up, the weeping and the laughter, no matter the mourning or the dancing, the stones gathered or thrown away, no matter the embracing or the lack thereof, the searching or the giving up, the keeping or the throwing away, the tearing or the sewing, no matter the times you choose to keep silent or the times you choose to speak, no matter the love or the hate, the war and the peace…no matter how much life chooses to bless you or how much it chooses to spew all over you, God will never leave us, He will never forsake us, and our circumstances never dictate His goodness and His love toward us.
And, I have come to find something beautiful in even the toughest seasons. Even in death. Sometimes it was after the fact, but in the last three years, I’ve grown to learn to trust God with the peace that surpasses all understanding in every season, which keeps me from striving and keeps me in rest.
Christina Rich is a mother of four children, a grandmother of one, a romance author with Love Inspired Historical and Forget Me Not Romances, a speaker, a photographer, and painter. She teaches writing workshops, which focus on writing for God’s glory. She also teaches classes on breaking word curses and breaking ungodly soul-ties. She is committed to carrying on the legacy her husband began before he graduated to heaven, which focuses on seeing people live in freedom, reconciling people to God through Jesus Christ, helping equip the saints for spiritual warfare, and preparing them for the return of Jesus.
You can connect with her on Facebook at Author Christina Rich, Twitter @Christinainspy, Instagram at inspyscribe, or at threefoldstrand.com
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