Some Seasons Are for Surviving, Not Thriving

What if making it through the day is the accomplishment?

What if you don't need to accomplish more, become more, heal faster, pray harder, or somehow turn the hardest season of your life into an inspiring success story right now?

What if, for this season, getting up every morning and saying, "God, help me do this one more day," is enough?

I think we put so much pressure on ourselves to always be growing.

We should be accomplishing something. Building something. Healing. Improving. Becoming better. Checking things off the list.

We hear phrases like "This is your season!" or "It's time to thrive!" and while those words can be encouraging,

I've learned that sometimes they can also make you feel like you're failing when you're simply trying to make it through the day.

Because the truth is, some seasons aren't about thriving.

Some seasons are simply about surviving.

And I'm learning that there is nothing wrong with that.

There have been seasons of my life when getting out of bed and facing another day was an accomplishment.

Seasons when my prayers weren't long or beautifully spoken. Sometimes all I could say was, "God, please help me."

Seasons when I wasn't thinking about becoming the best version of myself because I was simply trying to hold myself together.

There were days when I didn't have a five-year plan.

I was worried about the next five minutes.

And looking back, I realize something:

God was just as present in those seasons as He was in the seasons when I was thriving.

I think sometimes we convince ourselves that if we're not constantly moving forward, we're falling behind.

But life doesn't work that way.

There are seasons when you're planting.

There are seasons when you're growing.

There are seasons when you're harvesting.

And there are seasons when you're simply trying to survive the storm without losing yourself in it.

I've experienced moments when life changed so quickly that I didn't have time to process one thing before something else happened.

I've had moments when I've needed to be strong for my children even though I didn't feel strong myself.

I've prayed prayers through tears.

I've smiled when I was exhausted.

I've shown up when everything inside of me wanted to stay in bed.

And I've continued putting one foot in front of the other when I had absolutely no idea where the road ahead was leading.

At the time, I probably wouldn't have called any of that growth.

But now?

I realize I was growing the entire time.

Survival taught me things success never could.

It taught me that I don't have to know what tomorrow holds to trust the One who does.

It taught me that sometimes faith isn't standing confidently on top of the mountain.

Sometimes faith is sitting at the bottom saying, "God, I don't know how I'm going to climb this, but I know You're here."

It taught me that strength doesn't always look strong.

Sometimes strength looks like crying and then getting back up.

Sometimes it looks like asking for help.

Sometimes it looks like admitting, "I'm not okay today."

Sometimes it looks like doing the bare minimum because the bare minimum is genuinely all you have to give.

And sometimes strength is simply making it to tomorrow.

I've also learned that I don't have to turn every difficult season into something productive while I'm still living through it.

I don't always have to immediately figure out the lesson.

I don't have to find the positive side of everything the moment it happens.

I don't have to rush myself through grief, disappointment, fear, or exhaustion just because I want to get back to being "me."

Sometimes I just need to let God meet me exactly where I am.

Maybe you're in one of those seasons right now.

Maybe everyone around you seems to be accomplishing things while you're just trying to keep your head above water.

Maybe you're watching other people celebrate while you're quietly asking God when your season will change.

Maybe you're exhausted from being strong.

If that's you, I want you to know something I'm learning myself:

Surviving is still progress.

You don't have to thrive every single day.

You don't have to have everything figured out.

You don't have to pretend that you're okay when you're not.

And you don't have to compare your season to someone else's.

God can still be working when it feels like you're standing still.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you." — Isaiah 43:2

Notice that Scripture doesn't promise that we won't have to go through the waters.

It promises that we won't go through them alone.

And maybe that's what I needed to understand all along.

There will be seasons when I'm flourishing. There will be seasons filled with answered prayers, accomplishments, new beginnings, and moments when I can finally see the fruit of everything I've prayed for.

But there may also be seasons when my greatest accomplishment is simply making it to the other side.

I'm learning not to be ashamed of those seasons anymore.

Because when I look back at some of the hardest moments of my life, I don't just see the woman who was struggling to survive.

I see all the times God carried her when she didn't have the strength to carry herself.

So if you're in survival mode today, don't rush yourself.

Don't look at someone else's season and decide you're falling behind.

Don't mistake exhaustion for failure.

And don't think that because you aren't flourishing right now, God isn't working.

Take the next breath.

Say the next prayer.

Get through the next moment.

You don't have to bloom in every season.

Sometimes surviving the storm is what keeps the roots alive long enough for you to bloom again.

And when your season finally changes, you may look back and realize:

You weren't just surviving.

God was sustaining you.