Embracing Slow Seasons
It’s mid October. The leaves are falling. The air is becoming increasingly more crisp. The hustle of summer is being traded for the bustle of the holiday season.
Here on the farm, fall is anything but slow. We’re dashing around like madmen trying to get the beans in before snow sticks and the corn dried and in the bins all while trying to keep up with the normal intensity of having cattle. While fall is arguably one of our most busy times, it is a reminder that slower days are ahead.
Maybe not yet with fall holidays and activities giving way to the Christmas season, but soon we will hit slower days. There won’t be any summer vacations or cooks outs to attend. All our Christmas parties will be done and over with. It’s harder to get outdoors and there certainly isn’t the demand of gardening or yard maintenance. Out our windows won’t be vibrant green or warm colors of fall. Soon it will be a blank white slate or a lifeless brown.
Most people don’t dread October to December, but those long, lifeless months of January to March or even April seem to drag on. We’re so used to being constantly entertained or busy that to sit in the slow days can be a form of torture for some. We often find these months dull and boring. We long for them to be over and impatiently wait for spring. I know I’ve been in this place and maybe you find yourself here too in the long winter months.
If this is relatable to you, I encourage you to change your heart and mindset to one of contentment in these months and embrace the slow season.
Perhaps it’s 10 years of farming full time or becoming a mother, but after going non stop from early spring to the beginning of winter, I look forward to slower days now. What was once something I dreaded, I embrace.
There are seasons to go hard in your work and play. Then there are seasons to slow down. I’ve come to realize that balance is not often something that is achievable on the farm, but seasons of focus are more of the reality. From tilling to planting to hay to summer work to harvest, we put in insanely long hours. We push our bodies to their limits. Then we have a few months of less work. In the colder months, we need to keep our animals fed and milked and clean, but the extra demands of crops have subsided. We get a few minutes to breathe.
While you may not be on a farm, you probably can relate to this. You may have kids and some seasons are intense with activities, school, or even seasons of life when your children are small and need you so desperately. Or maybe you’re in a hard working season in a different filed of work. Maybe you’re busy with activities of your own. Then there are some seasons that are slower than others. Your kids may be on a break from sports, they may be growing more independent, or they may have less school demands. Your activities may have come to an end or your work may have slowed. Life ebbs and flows.
Instead of dreading the slow seasons, I encourage you to find contentment as you sit in them. Life will get busy again. Soon the weather will be warm, activities will restart, life will become more demanding. Take a deep breath. Embrace the slow.
I remember complaining a lot as a kid in the winter months that I was bored, but now I long for a little boredom. What a gift it is to be bored! When we’re lacking events on our calendar, we have so much opportunity! We can dust off the books on our shelves we’ve been longing to read. We can dive deep into our Bible study. We can make some slower foods like bread or soups. We can learn the new skill that we’ve been wanting to try. We can sit with a warm cup of coffee or tea and watch the leaves or snow fall. We can finally catch up with the friend we’ve been saying we’d visit for months now. We can spend intentional time with our children and get on the floor and play with them. There is so much to do when our calendars are empty.
When the temptation to grow discontented in the winter month creeps up on you, I encourage you to embrace the slow season. Adjust your heart and mindset to one of contentment and gratitude for the season that you are currently in. Don’t worry, like all of life, it’ll go by fast. One day you may look back with longing that you didn’t embrace the slower time. Life may not be able to be fully balanced at times, but I’ve found I can better handle the intensity of it all when I am fully present in the season of focus that I’m currently in. Don’t let these cooler months pass you by while you’re longer for warmer. Find joy and contentment in them. Embrace the slowness of the season.
