Through the Seasons of My Life

I Learned...Life Is But a Whisper

At 60 years old, I find myself looking back over my life differently.

I am no longer measuring my life only by what I have accomplished, what I have acquired, or how many goals I have reached. I am thinking about the moments. The people. The love. The laughter. The losses. The lessons. The things I once thought mattered that no longer seem important, and the things I may have overlooked that now mean everything.

Sixty years old.

When I was younger, that sounded like such a long time. Now that I am here, I realize just how quickly those years passed.

Life is but a whisper.

It arrives with possibility, moves through seasons, and somehow begins slipping by while we are busy making plans, raising families, building careers, surviving disappointments, pursuing dreams, and trying to become who we believe we are supposed to be.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

Looking back, I can see the seasons of my life more clearly now.

The Spring Seasons

Spring has always represented new beginnings.

These were the seasons when something new was emerging in my life. New relationships. New opportunities. New dreams. New assignments. New versions of me.

Spring brought anticipation. It reminded me that life could begin again, even after I thought something had ended. It taught me that buried does not always mean dead. Sometimes what appears to be buried is simply planted.

Some of my spring seasons arrived with excitement. Others came after painful endings. I did not always recognize them as new beginnings because I was still grieving what had been.

But spring did not ask whether I was ready.

It simply came.

The Summer Seasons

Summer represents the high moments of my life.

The moments when the sun seemed to shine brightly, things were growing, doors were opening, and I could see the fruit of what I had worked and prayed for.

These were the celebrations. The accomplishments. The answered prayers. The laughter-filled days when life felt full and the future felt promising.

I wish I could say that I fully appreciated every summer while I was living in it. Sometimes I was so focused on reaching the next goal that I did not stop long enough to enjoy the one I had just reached.

I understand now that every mountaintop deserves a moment.

A moment to breathe.

A moment to give thanks.

A moment to look around and recognize, “This is one of the good days.”

Summer taught me to celebrate what is blooming while it is still in bloom.

The Fall Seasons

Fall represents transition.

It is the season when the atmosphere begins to change. What was once vibrant begins to fade. The leaves change color, loosen their grip, and eventually fall.

I have experienced fall seasons when I knew something in my life was changing, but I did not yet know what would replace it. I could feel the shift before I could explain it.

Fall taught me about release.

It taught me that everything I carry into one season is not meant to follow me into the next. Some relationships, roles, habits, expectations, and versions of myself served their purpose for a particular time. Releasing them did not mean they were worthless.

It meant their season was complete.

There is beauty in knowing when to hold on, but there is also wisdom in knowing when to let go.

The Winter Seasons

Winter represents the lowest and most painful moments of my life.

These were the seasons of loss, disappointment, heartbreak, confusion, and silence. The seasons when life felt cold and I could not see evidence that anything was growing.

Winter has a way of stripping life down to what is essential. It reveals what I truly believe, who is genuinely beside me, and what I have been using to hold myself together.

I have lived through winters I thought would break me.

Some winters changed me permanently. I did not come out of them as the same woman who entered them. They took things from me that I could never replace, but they also revealed a strength within me that I did not know existed.

Winter taught me that stillness is not the same as stagnation.

Even when the ground looks empty, something may still be happening beneath the surface. Roots are deepening. Strength is forming. Life is preparing to rise again.

Every Season Had a Purpose

I can now see that my life has never been one continuous summer.

There have been highs and lows. Beginnings and endings. Laughter and tears. Times to gain and times to lose. Times to hold close and times to release. Times when I understood what God was doing and times when I simply had to trust Him.

Every season gave me something.

Spring gave me hope. Summer gave me joy. Fall gave me wisdom. Winter gave me depth.

I needed all four.

The woman I am today was not formed only by the moments when I was winning. She was also formed by the moments when she had to wait, surrender, rebuild, release, and begin again.

What Truly Matters Now

Life looks different to me at 60.

I am more aware of how precious time is. I understand that some things are not worth my peace, my energy, or the moments I have left to live.

I want to be present.

I want to say what needs to be said while the people I love are still here to hear it. I want to give flowers while hands can still receive them. I want to laugh without rushing, love without keeping score, rest without feeling guilty, and live without constantly postponing joy.

I no longer want to spend valuable time proving myself to people who have already decided not to see me.

I do not want to carry offense into seasons that were designed for freedom.

I do not want to be so busy preparing for tomorrow that I miss the beauty of today.

Because life is moving.

Seasons are changing.

And life is but a whisper.

Coach PBJ’s Final Thoughts

If these 60 years have taught me anything, it is that no season lasts forever.

The summer will not always remain, so I must appreciate it.

The winter will not last forever, so I must endure it.

Spring will come again, so I must remain open to new beginnings.

Fall will require release, so I must loosen my grip.

I cannot control every season that enters my life, but I can decide how I will live while I am in it.

Today, I choose to stay focus and pay attention.

I choose to honor where I have been, embrace where I am, and remain open to wherever God is leading me next.

Life is too sacred to rush through.

Too fragile to take for granted.

Too brief to spend on what no longer matters.

Life is but a whisper.

And I want to be fully present while mine is still being spoken.

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