Life is not one endless summer high. And the path up is often down. There is necessary suffering and loss we must endure in order to reach our potential. This dip is part of the path toward our greatness.
Everything is in full bloom during the summer. But we also know this doesn’t last forever.
Cool breezes soon remind us of the coming of fall, and eventually winter.
We might miss our long summer days, but we still enter winter with hope – knowing spring will eventually bring new life and summer will soon return.
This is the dip of nature and it provides a pattern for us as well.
To get to our next peak of full summer strength, we must also suffer the losses of fall, the bareness of winter, and the tenderness of new life in the spring.
For example, we might have to go through a season of unemployment, underemployment, or working in an unrelated field on our way toward doing the work we were created to accomplish.
And our current status and security might have to fall like autumn leaves in order to prepare us for our next summer to come.
Likewise, our relationships must also go through a dip. The honeymoon phase does not last forever.
But even here, as we grieve the loss of young love, we allow mature love to fully emerge.
Initially, the dip seems like complete loss and we desperately try to hold on to all that was.
This only sets us up for more frustration as we live in limbo – unable to return to the previous season and unwilling to move forward into the next.
But as we see the dip from a larger frame, we enter into it with hope and confidence.
The dip is simply part of our journey forward.
Trust the larger pattern at play and enter the dip with courage. Your temporary hardships are moving you toward your greater.
