I love this time of year. When the leaves change color. The days are cooler but still warm enough to enjoy a walk through the park. I like living in a place that has all four seasons. Yes, having no snow and a steady 70 degrees every day would cut down on the stress in my life, but there is something about the changing seasons that makes me appreciate that this world was made by a God who created a well ordered planet. The dates shift a little, but fall always comes after summer and winter always follows autumn. Change with a degree of order and predictability is good. The change in season makes me think about other transitions that have happened in my life.
Four years ago, I sold the house my husband and I raised the kids in and moved to a condo. After my husband died, I knew I had to sell that house with the shop and the acre of land. It was just too much upkeep for me and I knew I wouldn't be able to take care of it as I got older. It took six years from the time my husband died to fix up and declutter the house I had lived in for about 28 years. I'm glad that I took that time to say good bye to the house and the life I had there. Change is good and necessary but you want some order and predictability to it. I sold my house at the right time. The memories went with me along with the totes full of stuff and the furniture.
Some changes happen to us and we have no control over them. I couldn't control that my husband got cancer and died. What about you? Are you facing a transition and trying keep order as you do? Or have you been surprised by a change that has happened in your life? Or maybe you can tell me which season is your favorite. 
Leave a comment and your email address. I will be giving away your choice of a K-9 book (USA only) to three randomly selected winners.
Leave a comment and your email address. I will be giving away your choice of a K-9 book (USA only) to three randomly selected winners.
Joyfully submitted,
Sharon Dunn
Oh, my... bless your heart. I am truly so sorry for your loss. Thank you for having the courage to share with us. And I love what you wrote about living in a place with 4 seasons and how it shows us, if we're willing to see it, that God has a sense of order when everything around us seems to be falling apart. We can rest in Him, knowing He is in control behind all the chaos. On February 5, 1995, my 2 children and I were visiting my dad downstate in Michigan when my husband was involved in a fatal car accident on his way to church (he was the pastor of a small Indian Mission in Northern Michigan, and, of course, there's more to this story). Our lives were never the same. But here I am, almost 30 yrs later in another state and in another "mess" (of a different kind), but I can look back and remind myself that God was with me then and He is with me now.
ReplyDeleteGod bless. ❤️
beautiful. thank you for sharing.
DeleteI'm so sorry for your loss. Through His grace we are able to stand through all the seasons of transition.
ReplyDeleteSummer
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
Spring, Summer, and Fall, especially good air w/o forestfire smoke. Have been following your life for a few years, and praying for you during the various changes. Also, enjoy your books, especially since I live in Deer Lodge, MT where my husband is a minister! Would love to win a print copy of Tracing a Killer. Thanks, Sharon, for sharing, and for the giveaway opportunity! God bless! Lual Krautter krautter62520AToutlookDOTcom
ReplyDeleteI live in a place that has all four seasons but very little snow. I am sorry for your loss and I know how you feel as I lost my husband 3 years ago after almost 50 years of marriage. I can say that God is faithful in all things. linda-henderson@att.net
ReplyDeleteGod is indeed faithful.
DeleteSo sorry for your loss,lost my husband 6 years ago.Some times it's so very hard
ReplyDeleteJcisforme@aol.com
I've been going through health problems that I'm not sure whats going on and so far no doctor has figured out how to help me. Fall is my favorite season. robinsontara801@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteSharon, this is a beautiful article! Thank you for sharing about such a difficult time. Change is part of life, and your use of seasons make a perfect example!
ReplyDeleteSummer is my favorite season.
ReplyDeleteScottishphilly at gmail dot com
Oops email is scottishphilly7689 at gmail dot com
DeleteFall is my favorite season. Love the crisp air and changing colors of the leaves.
ReplyDeleteTammy Griffin
cluedn @mac.com
I'm so very sorry for your loss. ♥ I've been going thru a difficult season since neck surgery. My neck's fine but the leg nerves that went totally numb before surgery are now "waking" back up & I'm in pain every day. But I know that's part of the process & I also know that God's grace has been sufficient & He's been with me step by step . . . literally.
ReplyDeletedianalflowers at aol dot com
so sorry to hear about the neck surgery.
DeleteI'm sorry for your loss. My favorite season is summer.
ReplyDeletedianah7272 at gmail dot com
Like you, my favorite season is fall. I love the cooler temperatures, the colorful leaves, the autumn produce, and the comfort foods like chilis, soups, and cobblers!
ReplyDeleteNancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
I'm sorry for your loss, but I am glad you were able to take your time saying goodbye to your home and transitioning to a new place to make new memories!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest change has been to have a baby after almost 20 years of waiting and praying! Our daughter, whom God and her birthmom gifted us through adoption, was born in 2020. I am a 47 year old mom of a 4 year old, and there is definitely some transitions happening all the time! I wouldn't change it for the world, but sometimes it does get a bit overwhelming!
I also love SUMMER! However, this summer has brought record-breaking heat, so I am ready for some coller temps. It was a high of 60° yesterday, and we were freezing! 🥶 🤣😂
Heather Mitchell crhbmitchellfam@gmail.com
We are having a huge change right now. Our 26 year old child has moved back home. Partly, to get their mental health in check but also to go back to college and get a Master's.
ReplyDeleteFall is my favorite season, but I also like spring. Winter is too cold and summer is too hot. Sounds like the story of The Three Bears, right? No big changes right now…just learning to adjust to the new normal of seeing specialists a lot. watts.vickie@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThe things we have no choice over are the hard ones. For me, it was the death of our daughter, who are whole worlds revolved around. Then after caring for my mom with Alzheimer you won't think so, but her death was another change that was hard to work my way back to "normal". So changes are fun like retirement and not having to put in for time off for vacations or reporting to someone else in order to draw a paycheck. Some changes can be exciting and strange at the same time. I'm not good with change, but it was my idea to sell our, downsize and to move to our dream destination. It was such a shock when I mentioned it on a return trip from there that hubby pulled over and stopped to car to make sure he heard me correctly. It was a change that drastically changed our lives but in a very good way this time.
ReplyDeleteFound it best to engulf change with happy thoughts knowing God's got this and won't dessert us. Often they are by choice, happenstance or destiny, but all can be a good thing if we work through them with maybe the end goal in mind or just with someone by your side.
Spring is my favorite season. It's a time to start over fresh with a new start whether with a garden, flowers or life in general. After being closed in during the cold months, it's good to get outside again without multiple layers that confine you. It's the time that nature and critters come alive. Flowers and trees bud out. Critters migrate in and the one's around all year begin to work on the next generation. Spring makes me smile!
2clowns at arkansas dot net
you have been through some deep loss.
DeleteI am not entering the giveaway as I already have both books. I have always found most change difficult and stressful. I do like the changing seasons because the differences make us appreciate the parts we like the best. I pray for those whose changes come from the loss of loved ones. May God give you comfort as only he can.
ReplyDeleteI like the change of leaves in fall, as well
ReplyDeleteMy Mom passed away in January 2023. She was my best friend. I am still working through letting go. I know that God has a plan. I am leaning into Him. Thank you for sharing. God bless you. dpruss@prodigy.net
ReplyDeleteSpring and fall are my favorite seasons as the weather is just perfect for being outside and nature is completely glorious then.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite season is Winter because Christmas falls during the Winter Season. Well a big change was that I lost a nephew to a motorcycle fatality. He was one of my brothers oldest sons, he only had 2 sons. My nephew left his wife and his own 2 sons who are 13 and 11, so so sad and so tragically , he was only 39 and he was such a very good son to my brother and my sister in law, it hurts just thinking of it. Alicia Haney. aliciabhaney@sbcglobal.net
ReplyDeleteSharon, your story of "change" is both beautiful and deeply moving. Hugs and love to you. Hope the change of seasons is treating you well.
ReplyDeleteChange is inevitable, it could be drastic and intimidating; it also could be a progression and satisfaction. Losing someone we loved (including our pets) is heartbreaking and a long process to adjust to the change. I lost my mother when I was a teenager, that was very difficult. Five years later, I lost my father, and that's it - I felt that it's the end of the world (my youngest brother was 9yo then). Over the years, I have learned to deal with the unexpected and the inevitable change, and to be stronger.
I grew up in a tropical country and didn't experience the change of seasons until I moved to U.S. I would say summer is my favorite season because I enjoy its warmth and longer daylight, and I can accomplish a lot of activities!
cwkuen(at)yahoo(dot)com
You have a new beginning story after your loss! I am currently decluttering a bit now so I have less left for my children one day. We’ve lived in the same house for 41 1/2 years! I have a long ways to go! I praise God every day which my husband and I share!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite season is Spring. New life springs up after a snowy, cold winter here in Ohio.
Charlotte S. char loves mark at gmail dot com
DeleteMy father died on May 14, 2024 of cancer. Thankfully he did not suffer long. From diagnosis till his death about a week. The hardest week of our lives. deborahdumm(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI love fall! The cooler weather is definitely appreciated. Here in South Carolina, we've had a few morning in the upper 30's and low 40's already.
ReplyDeletepattymh2000(at)yahoo(dot)com
I am so sorry for your loss Sharon, change is a very hard thing my favorite is fall Have a Blessed Day Sarahbaby601973(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry for your loss. As a cancer survivor, I understand the change and the journey. As a believer, I trust in God's sovereignty and His promises.
ReplyDeletekykla99ATgmailDOTcom
My husband I have relocated at least a dozen times in order to find funding for his company, and we may be moving soon again. Change sometimes really hurts, left behind a lot of friends along the way and life moves on, we lose touch. ( Cindy Merrill: writer61,,,,AT....Yahoo....dot..com
ReplyDeletei love the fall colors but don't like winter
ReplyDeleteI would love to move where its warm but no huuicane
ReplyDelete