Kat Mills considers the importance of getting all we can out of very season in our life, even the hard 'winter' seasons.

In my last blog, I shared about my recent illness and operation. Thankfully I am almost fully recovered, and after months on the side-lines I have been re-entering the rat-race! It does feel like jumping back onto a treadmill going at 100mph though, when you have been out of action for so long. I'm having to pace myself and slowly rebuild my fitness to be able to keep up!

Also, after several months of being housebound, it seems like I've skipped the summer, and now opening my door I see that autumn has arrived. I love the autumn so I am delighted to be well enough to start walking around. It always gives me delight to see the leaves starting to change colours, with the promise of the stunning golds, oranges and reds that will soon adorn the trees. I also love the sound of crunchy leaves under my feet. These things evoke wonderful childhood memories of raking all the leaves into a big pile and then making leaf dens, rolling around in the mass of leaves; or like my nephew and nieces did last year, emptying the bags of freshly raked leaves onto the trampoline, having a wonderful messy jumping session! Let's just say the photo makes for a brilliant jigsaw puzzle for a Christmas present!

I love living in a country that has seasons. Sometimes people ask me what my favourite season is and to be honest I struggle to pick one when they all bring something different! There are the fabulous colours of autumn, a brisk morning walk through a winter wonderland of icy beauty, the hope of spring breaking forth and the warmth (sometimes!) of summer. I believe each season holds the potential for incredible beauty, although sometimes it's not obvious. Sometimes you have to endure the cold and dreary winter nights before the beauty appears.

I believe we go through different seasons in our lives too. Some of these we love and we bask in the joy and warmth of the season, but there are others that are difficult and painful. When we spend our lives desperately living for the next season to appear, we can miss the wonder around us and the things we can learn in the here and now.

As I wrote at the beginning, I have just been through a season of illness and rest and for a while I really fought it. I was frustrated and upset to be stuck at home and sick. I wanted to be in the next season of wellness and health.

Fighting against reality, and longing for something that couldn't come yet, made me miserable and lose my joy. In this time, God reminded me of the importance of walking through the season you're in. If I opened my eyes more clearly I would see some beauty that otherwise I might have never seen, and if I allowed myself to, I would learn something. God was showing me once again the importance of rest and the importance of doing something you enjoy. When we are living at 100mph it is easy to forget this.

God restored my joy in this season through a seemingly small and insignificant colouring book. For once I had the time to use it and it ministered to me in my season of ill health. I had been focussed on the negative, "Woe is me," but God lifted my eyes to look at the detail of what was going on around me. I saw people cooking for us, helping with our son, people sending gifts, people visiting me, people taking time out of their busy lives to look after me, love me, and encourage me. When I was focused on my pain I missed all this, but when I embraced where I was, I was able to appreciate these amazing blessings. The time of rest has also prepared me for the upcoming season, which is already a much busier one!

I want to encourage you that whatever season you are in, even if it feels like the darkest and bleakest winter, it holds the potential for breath taking beauty. Also remember a season is not forever. After walking through one of the most difficult seasons of my life I wrote a lyric, "Although you may feel trapped in eternal winter, the spring will come again - and in the spring new life has started, bringing hope to us the broken hearted."

Whatever season you are going through, there is a God who loves you and wants to walk with you through it. Sometimes we need Him to go ahead and prepare the way, sometimes to walk right by us, and sometimes to carry us through it.