This Season Has Purpose
By Mary-Kathryn Laws
Avery County
Has it ever just seemed like one terrible thing happens and then it just follows behind more terrible things? This leaves you wondering when will I or the people around me catch a break. Sometimes we put on a brave face and try to stay strong through it all, when suddenly it all hits us. It becomes too much to carry on our own. But that’s the point, we were never meant to carry it all on our own. God wants us to lean on Him, at all times, especially when tragedy hits.
Something I’ve learned just recently is this, God can take it all. He can take our questions, our tears, our worries, and our anger. He actually even weeps with us in our hurt. Jesus understands our pain like no one else can because He lived it. He knows what it’s like to be betrayed by someone you love, He knows what it’s like to lose a loved one, and He knows the pain of watching those you love suffer.
What if we asked ourselves when hard times hit- What if God is using your story to reach someone else? What if that thing that’s breaking your heart right now becomes the story that helps someone else hold onto hope in their time of need?
This could change our way of dealing with hardship when it strikes because it will. God doesn’t promise that we won’t go through difficult times, but He does promise that we don’t have to face them alone. This doesn’t make the pain hurt any less, but it can give the hard chapter some purpose and meaning. These things you’re going through don’t have to be random and for no purpose but they might just be pieces to a bigger picture we can’t fully see yet.
As I have been reflecting on this, it brought me to these verses.
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
[2] A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
[3] A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
[4] A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4
We go through life in seasons. We go through seasons of joy and hardship. Life isn’t meant to be all dancing or all mourning. There is a time for everything. It’s okay to be going through a rough season, you don’t have to rush it. It’s okay to let yourself grieve the season you are in. Remember this as you walk through this tough season, your pain has a purpose, this chapter matters, and you are never walking through it alone!
Sometimes the most powerful testimonies come from our deepest hurts, and yours might just be the thing someone needs to get them through their season.
Think about all those Bible stories that seemed hopeless and then God showed up. They weren’t just stories, they were people just like you and me. Things seemed hopeless for Joseph in prison, but then God showed up! Things seemed hopeless for Moses, but then God showed up! Things seemed hopeless for Ruth, but then God showed up! He showed up for them, just like he’ll show up for your friend.
This tough season you’re in? It’s just a chapter, not the ending. God’s not just writing a story of survival – He’s writing a story of victory, of purpose, of redemption. Trust the Author of your story. He’s never written a bad ending.
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Mary-Kathryn Laws is the daughter of Chastity Ogburn, Founder of Anne Ministries. In 2018, the Lord put on Chastity’s heart the calling to reach out to those hurting from loss. Anne Ministries began in September 2018. Anne means “grace” and that is what this ministry is about, extending God’s grace and allowing Him to heal your deepest hurt. This ministry reaches out to those hurting from abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss. The ministry expanded in 2021 offering pregnancy support services to those facing an unplanned pregnancy. Chastity and her family attend Emmanuel Baptist Church in Newland, NC. You can purchase her book, His Grace Covers All, on Amazon HERE.
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