"Learning to Embrace the Seasons" by Heather McCoy

There is something beautiful about this time of year.

The leaves begin to change their green color, slowly giving way to gold, orange, and red. Trees that once looked full and certain begin letting go, one leaf at a time. And somehow, in that letting go, there is beauty.

It reminds me that life has seasons too.

Living with cystic fibrosis has taught me that some chapters don’t look the way I imagined they would. There are seasons of strength and seasons of struggle, moments of progress and moments when simply getting through the day is an accomplishment. Sometimes I’ve had to let go of the plans I thought my life would follow and learn to embrace the chapter I’m living. Right now, it’s a season of joy. 

Like the leaves, we aren’t meant to stay the same forever, and I certainly am not the same after everything I’ve gone through but in a beautiful way. 

 Change can be uncomfortable. We may cling to what feels familiar because we are afraid of what comes next. But the trees don’t fight the changing seasons. They trust the process. They let go when it’s time, rest when they need to, and eventually begin again.

I’m learning to do the same.

I’m learning that embracing life with cystic fibrosis doesn’t mean pretending the hard seasons aren’t hard, but I do not get stuck looking in the past so much I can’t enjoy the present and look forward. It means finding beauty in them anyway. It means celebrating the small victories, appreciating the ordinary moments, and remembering that even the most difficult chapter is still only a chapter. For me that is an everyday hallelujah because I’m here to witness, embrace and fight on through such a wonderful time in my life while also acknowledging some of my friends may not be in that season. 

So, as the leaves change around us, I’m trying to welcome the changes within me, too. To let go of what I can’t control, cherish where I am, and trust that every season has something to teach me.

Maybe that’s the beauty of life: we are always becoming, always changing, always turning the page. celebrating the small and big victories. 

And sometimes, the most beautiful chapters are the ones we never planned to write but here we are living the heck out of the cards we have been dealt inhaling with every breath exhaling courage to keep fighting keep living and keep hoping. 

Inhale courage, exhale fear .