Are You Ready for a New Season? // M-Note 9.20.25

For many years in my 20s, I played basketball two nights a week. I loved the competition, the exercise, and the friendships. But, when my second child Carly was born and my work schedule grew heavier, those two nights away from home started to take a toll on my wife Jessica and our family rhythm. I could have clung to the old routine (and created conflict in my family), but I sensed something different: the season of my life was changing. So, I stopped the evening games, started working out early in the morning, and devoted more of my evenings to family and work. What worked in one season of life had to be left behind in the new season.

When life begins to shift and change, I am reminded of the wisdom in Ecclesiastes 3:

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”

Fall is coming. I know it doesn’t seem like it outside, but it is. The leaves are beginning to fall, the temperatures are cooler, and a new season is emerging. Just as we can’t hold back the turning of autumn leaves or the shortening of daylight, we can’t control every change in the seasons of our lives. Children grow up. Careers evolve. Friendships change. Our bodies and relationships move through their own rhythms.

The invitation of Ecclesiastes is not to resist these changes but to recognize them and live faithfully within them. Wisdom doesn’t try to control the seasons. We can’t. Instead, faithful wisdom means asking: What season am I in? What needs to stay? What needs to be released? We may not be able to control what season of life we are in, but we do get to control how we live in each season.

The turn towards autumn feels appropriate because Jess and I are on the cusp of another season as parents. Our youngest, George, is a senior in high school. Carly is off at college and our oldest Caleb is in New York. Our role as parents has changed, we are needed less, and we have more time on our hands! Perhaps you are in a similar season of transition. If so, I encourage you to stop, notice what is changing, and accept what cannot be controlled. Then, maybe take a walk. Notice the trees outside, the cooler air, the leaves turning red, orange, and gold. Remember that once again a season is changing, and it might be time to ask yourself how God is calling you to change along with it.

Peace,
Matt

P.S. Last Sunday, The Gathering Metro East had its first preview worship service. Over 203 people showed up, and it was an incredible afternoon of worship and fun. The site will continue to have monthly preview worship services throughout this fall. I encourage you to check out the dates and plan to come support this new site. Most of all, if you know someone who lives in the metro east, make sure to invite them. You can find out all the information, and sign up for updates here.

Also, I have nearly 50 people signed up for the trip that I am leading to Egypt in February. It isn’t too late to sign up, and there are still a few spots. I would love to have you join me as we retrace the footsteps of Moses and reflect on our own faith along the way. It is going to be an incredible trip. You can learn more or sign up here and feel free to email me if you want to talk more about it.