"For Everything There is a Season..."

It's one of those verses that I either find comfort in hearing or wish that God hadn't really included that in His Word (Ecclesiastes 3:1). I happened to really like the season we were in a year ago. Albuquerque was all I could have hoped for and more. We had great friends, a great church, both of our boys were born there, and family was only a $99 flight away.

Then I found myself adjusting to our new circumstances in Turkey and actually loving things about it. An albeit older but bigger house, opportunities to travel and a fantastic base community. Our lives are more simple out here giving us time to focus on the good things.

Yet again, less than a year later, I find that the winds of change are upon us again, bringing about another season. No, we are not moving, but it honestly feels like we might as well be. Seventy-two percent of the base is turning over, and within that percentage, almost all of our closest friends are heading out the door. With my aversion to change, this has been particularly difficult. I was concerned about how Elijah would do losing all his playmates. He asks about them often enough, but we've distracted him with lots of opportunities to play with the friends that are still here. I, on the other hand, have found myself truly missing familiar faces and almost not wanting to be here anymore.

The other day, Daniel asked me about what I wanted to do about our smaller banana tree out front. As weird as it may sound, I felt God talking to me as I later debated in my head whether or not to have our gardener relocate it. (Stick with me!)

When we first moved here, we were really excited to have an exotic banana tree in our front yard with its very own bunch of bananas! Less than two weeks later we found the tree flat on the ground after a storm. We sadly noticed a tiny little tree had been left behind. At not much more than five inches tall, we didn't expect to have a real tree for the rest of our stay in Turkey. Why would God give us a beautiful tree, one of the only things we liked about our house, and then take it away? However, we have been more than a little shocked at how quickly that tree sprung up with the plethora of water that Daniel has been lavishing upon it! It has been only seven months and it has more branches than any other tree in our neighborhood! And lo-and-behold, a second baby tree is now competing for space in our front lawn. (I shouldn't even mention the third baby tree that we're now trying to discourage!) God took away that first tree that seemed irreplaceable only to give us two more (or three more)...because it was faithfully watered. Are you getting what I think God has been telling me? He may have physically removed all the close friends that we had, but He is faithful and will bring us even more than we had before! How I hold onto the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father!

Life lessons from a banana tree (or two) and the Creator who put them there.