Discernment and Recognition

Anyone can tell what time it is

It takes more to tell what season it is

- Frankie Mazzapica

As we continue to wade in the waters of the financial hurricane of 2008, it's quite easy for us to feel (perhaps rightly so) that the waters won't subside. It's easy for us to feel that we've lost everything - including all hope. We're concerned about how we'll provide for our posterity and wonder if there's any end in sight.

Though the three decades of my life may not be much, I have found that little, if anything, is random. I have found that there is purpose in everything; even, and especially, when we cannot see it. The Significant Life® begins with the recognition that, without purpose, life becomes meaningless; it becomes a mass of random occurrences that are unrelated and, therefore, have no value. Such a world, I cannot believe in...

Wise King Solomon noted that to every thing there is a season; the challenge for you and I lies in being able to recognize which season it is. For instance, it would be foolish to venture outside dressed in shorts and a t-shirt at the height of a mid-western winter or dressed in long Johns and heavy coats in August in Texas. All metaphors aside, without this discernment, we lose out on opportunities. A good friend of mine always says that "the opportunity of a lifetime is only available for the lifetime of the opportunity;" that means that if we do not grab a hold of it, the opportunity passes. How can we grab a hold of the opportunity if we do not understand the urgency that comes with certain seasons?

I do not know what season of life you are in; sowing...reaping...nurturing...studying...maturing...I don't know. The consequences of my lack of knowledge pales in comparison to your lack of knowledge about the season you are in. "What you don't know won't hurt you" it's been said. I say: What you don't know can kill you!

It's time to take ownership of your growth and development. Growth and development that requires not only the knowledge but an understanding of the season you're in. During a famine is the wrong time to enjoy excess; the season isn't right. Yet, like ants, the summer is the best time to store up for the winter. Without this discernment and wisdom, our efforts are useless as they contain no purpose and direction - we become wasteful of not only our goods, but also, and sadly, our potential...

Do you know what season it is?

(c) 2009, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.