The 5th Season

What’s your favorite season?

I’m a huge fan of fall. The colors, the activities, and the temperature hit just right for me. In the end, I wouldn’t fault anyone for selecting any of the four seasons, as each has something special to it. Yet, I would like to propose a section of time in the second half of winter into the earlier days of spring (early February to late March) that we should have as a fifth season.

Summer —> Fall —> Winter —> Blah —> Spring

A brief rundown to help capture this season.

The Colors of Blah: 

Gray & Brown

The Mascot of Blah:

A leprechaun kicking a groundhog

An Average Blah Morning:  

Wake up, don’t want to get up, wonder if you are sick, kind of wish you were sick enough to not be miserable but to be able to stay in bed all day, and finally drag yourself out of bed. Oh, and I would propose this "sickness" have a name: The Februaries.

The Weather of Blah in All Seasons Regions: 

1-2 days of sun and glorious warmth immediately followed by 10 days (that feel like 40 days) of bone-chilling wind, freezing temperatures, rain, sleet, hail, snow, and/or pestilence. 

The Most blah moment of Blah: 

It’s a tie between having one night where you go to bed an lose and hour of sleep, and adding a day to the season of blah once every 4 years.

The Blah season hits hard on those of us in ministry. Sin and brokenness seems to flourish in the gray and brown. The people in our church are struggling and cranky. We as ministry leaders are struggling and cranky. I consistently have an uptick of conversations with pastors in this time frame marked by challenges, questions on calling, or just feeling off. I have actually frustrated some who reach out wanting to process if it’s time to move on from where they are by simply stating, “It may be time, but let’s hold off and check back in a week or two after Spring Break and Easter.”

Friends, as we are heading into the Blah, remember green, sun, new life, and refreshment are coming. If you’re feeling weary this Blah, you’re not alone. If you’re don't think you're coming down with a case of The Februaries, pause to celebrate. If you do feel the Februaries coming on, I share a scripture that I hold near to me as a prayer over you and the beautifully challenging and amazing calling on our lives, and the reminder of the faithfulness and authority of the caller.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.

*NOTE: If you would like to help me lobby to make Blah an official season, please contact your local and state representatives.