Quiet
dinners are where my soul is recharged and renewed. Keep your clubs and
pubs…quiet, intimate, “get to know me” and “lets build each other” type of
conversation is what my heart always skips to. So when my best friend invited
me for dinner, my soul was already expectant of the awesomeness that was about
to unfold. Little did I know how profound an impact on my soul the conversation
would have!
The
conversation started off as a catch-up exercise. Questions like “how are you”
and “dude, it has been so long, what have you been up to” were served as the
appetizer that night. It delighted my soul that my friend was keeping well,
keeping strong in the faith and was really doing well in her career. Because we
had not seen each other in a while, the appetizer portion of our conversation
went on for a good hour, we laughed hard, almost in appreciation of the quality
of the plate that was presented before us (we were glad to be in a place where
everyone seemed to be having “starters” in their individual conversations as
the room was full of hearty laughs – my laugh is known to get us stares and
near evictions from eateries).
Once we had
caught up, we decided that a semi-serious pallet cleanser was in order just
before we get ourselves stuck into the “meat” of the conversation. The topic
moved to a recent meeting I had with an ex and how the events of that day
brought clarity to my soul.
After
detailing the events of that day, my friend asked me how I was doing following
the end of the relationship and the answer I had completely set my soul at
peace about events that followed the break-up. “I have never been happier” was
my answer to her question and immediately I felt I needed to qualify this
statement so that I would not come across as a heartless man who moves on too
quick or simply doesn’t care for that person anymore. This is how I explained
it to my friend: I feel like I am happy
now because I am getting to really know who I am…for me! What interests me?
What type of movies do I really like? What kind of a woman am I really
interested in? Am I an indoor or outdoor person? Do I really like ice cream? Do
I want to get married…EVER? What do I think about cross-cultural relationships?
Do I want children? How many children do I want? What language will they speak?
Do I want to play Jacaranda FM in my car or do I want to blast my massive
hip-hop collection to the max? I am happy because I am finally (without the
pressures of someone who knew who they are and what they want) getting to
understand what makes me happy.
My friend
then offered the mains for that night in one simple statement…”it is your
season…” This immediately resonated in my soul as if I was looking for that
exact phrase all along to quantify what this phase of my life was for me! It is
my season and I am meant to live it to the full because answering those
questions about all the silly things that made me the imperfect mate so that
one day…when the season of becoming someone’s mate comes around…I am able to
answer all those questions with certainty and conviction.
So I am
living my season. I am actively pursing all things that make me happy and
discovering those that do not make me happy. I am defining new boundaries that
I believe in. Not my girlfriend…not my parents…not my church…I am living in
this season to fully discover all that God has hidden within me! People often
look at me with sadness when I tell them about the end of the relationship Iso
cherished. Sadness should never be the emotion we feel when entering into a new
season. Expectation should be the overriding feeling. We should be expecting to
wear new clothes, start new habits, dine at new places…just redefine how the
world knows us and relates to us.
So to all my
brothers and sisters…this here was my “take-away” from that night. live in your
season. No matter which season you are in. Whether it be a season of financial
prosperity or financial lack; blossoming relationships or ones that have just
ended; academic success or failure…live in your season because it is within
that season that God prepares us for the next season in our lives.
From an
incredibly happy brother redefining all his emotions, ambitions, preferences
and characteristics in this season of his life…and loving it…I bless God for
friends who reveal greatness from within us! Blessed rest of the year ahead.
#LiveInYourSeason
