A few years ago, I got the word ‘thrive’ inked inside my wrist. Maybe a dumb idea at the moment, but it has served as a reminder that God didn’t put me on this earth just to simply survive, but to thrive.
But what if you’re in a season where you feel like you can’t thrive? What if you’re in crisis mode?
What if you’re a new mom with a tiny, precious baby that doesn’t let you schedule your life according to your own plans (or even SHOWER according to your own plans)?
Or someone in the midst of deep depression?
Or simply someone like me, who is getting through a brutal season at work?
What does thriving look like when you barely have time to do the things that make you feel human?
Well, thriving in these seasons looks a lot like simply surviving them, and that’s OKAY.
There are seasons where you can’t do everything that makes you think you are living a truly thriving life. It’s okay to realize that you’re simply going to have to pare down for a while and get through it.
When my work schedule started to expand for this season, that came with guilt. What about time spent with my friends? Or writing those op-eds I want to submit? Or taking my dog for long walks? Or getting connected and volunteering like I’ve been wanting to do?
But what I would like to chalk up as a word from the Lord hit me in the midst of this and reminded me that seasons come and go.
My schedule will slow.
I’ll be able to return and pick up the things that make me feel like I’m living a very full, well-rounded, thriving life.
But, for now, I simply survive.
I carve out time to do the things that I can’t live without (spending time with the LORD, talking to my family, working out, getting sleep), and I put down the guilt about the rest.
Sometimes, you simply need to survive a season, and that’s okay. You’ll come out of it thriving again.
KELVEY OLIVIA VANDER HART 