Is it possible to start a season already in a slump? The trees and temperatures are signaling spring, but winter’s slowness still has a hold on me. Signs of new life are all around, but I’m more likely to muster a “meh” than much enthusiasm for the new season.
I’m still struggling to gel with a new schedule for our family. Projects I’d hoped to finish are undone. These last few months have been spiritually dry. For all those reasons, I’m starting this spring in a bit of a slump.
Even in the sluggishness, though, there is evidence of God’s goodness and mercy. As I struggle to get with the program for a new season, he’s reminding me of the valuable teammates he’s graciously put around me:
- A husband who already bears at least half of the responsibilities we share, finding ways to take on more of mine while acting as if it isn’t a sacrifice.
- A new work friend who, more consistently than anyone I know, puts the needs of others above her own, pointing people toward Jesus as she goes.
- A small group of women I meet with regularly who, all in their 20s and well acquainted with changing circumstances, encourage me to trust God more fully in this season and all the others.
There are others too. Some of these teammates have offered literal acts of service—a shared project at work, an extra afternoon of school pickup. Others have encouraged me through their example of faithfulness. All have been invaluable, bringing me to a familiar place where I remember again God’s provision in community. The history of the church is covered in examples of believers encouraging each other, lifting one another through slumps and hard seasons.
“Encourage one another daily,” Hebrews 3:13 exhorts us. “Outdo one another in showing honor,” Paul urges in Romans 12:10 (ESV). And be filled with the Holy Spirit, he says in Ephesians 5:18-19, “speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.”
A slump is less weighty when accompanied by the songs and prayers of fellow pilgrims who have trudged through a similar season. God’s gift of community is good all the time, but perhaps even more when life forces us to lean into it a little more than we’d like.
Slumps are isolating, but we weren’t meant to walk through them alone.
Meredith Day Flynn is a wife and mother of two living in Springfield. She writes on the intersection of faith, family, and current culture.