Winter Rest

Winter Rest

by Wemi Omotosho

 

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven”
(Ecclesiastes 3:1, ESV).

In 2020, as the world stood gripped in the throes of a pandemic, words poured out of me in prose and verse.

Some days I couldn’t sleep for the imagery that danced behind my eyelids and phrases that floated about in my mind, beckoning me to capture them on paper. I jotted down ideas, capturing inspiration whenever it struck. I blogged weekly, wrote guest articles, and even entered competitions. I felt I’d hit my stride in my writing, and it never occurred to me that it could change.

Fast-forward to 2021, and writing proved a different story. This year brought with it a significant change for my family. There were several months of uncertainty filled with house showings, packing, school exams, mortgage broker appointments, relocation, and back-to-back fervent pleas for divine intervention. During those times, I struggled to focus on wordcraft. Before I knew it, it had been months since I’d written. I worried I was neglecting the work God had committed into my hands. I berated myself for lacking productivity until I realized that, not unlike the weather, my writing life had transitioned into a new season. One where I bowed to the demand of tight schedules and changed routines.

With that realization came grace and release from feeling like a failure for not meeting my self-imposed writing schedule.

Seasons aren’t permanent. God orchestrates cycles of change and renewal. With this in mind, I stopped wrestling for control and embraced rest. I surrendered to the new season, letting go of worry over writer’s block. Instead, I stayed curious, spent time in the Word, and wrote snippets whenever they teased at my mind.

As I’ve started coming out of that period of uncertainty into the vast, open space where God is settling my family, I can see he is in control and my ‘winter’ did not negate my calling as a writer.

After all, the joy of winter is the song forming unseen in the soil, soon to blossom in a springtime medley.

Thank you, God, for seasons of rest so that we can recover and replenish our strength. Thank you because you are in control even when things are not going according to our plans. Amen.

 

Wemi Omotosho, PhD wears many hats as a scientist, entrepreneur, and writer. Currently, she lives with her husband and two children amongst the rolling hills and valleys of Surrey, UK. Her writings have appeared in various online sites as well as print devotional anthologies. She is constantly awed by God’s love for her despite her mess. She blogs at www.reflectionsinthemess.com