Peter Suaka Writes: SEASONS!

Have you noticed, that everything we do are in circles? Everything tries to be round. The sky is round, the earth is round, the stars are round and even birds make their nest in circles. The wind in its greatest power whiles in a circle. Seasons in their changing times always come back again to where they started. The Human life is in a circle, from childhood to childhood and so it is in everything where power moves. They are in seasons! They are in circles! (Black Elk)

You may be in total darkness today, but that will not last forever, the dawn will surely come if you advance relentlessly and eschew defeat. The day will come when you will look back and declare, that I am savoring this happiness because I struggled back then. It is those who experience the bitterness of winter that can relish the joy of spring (Ikeda)

All things are difficult before they are easy, (Fuller). Everybody faces one trouble or the other in their life time. It may be financial, health, career, marital, or any other. This is one reason you should not envy anyone. You don’t know where their shoe pinches.

No season lasts forever; no time continues unending. Daniel writes, that, “God determines the course of world events; He removes kings and sets others on the throne. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to scholars.” God is the unchanging changer! He changes times and seasons (Daniel 2:21).

Life is tough, life is rough, and sometimes life is just unfair. Don’t push yourself too hard. Encourage yourself, support yourself and talk kindly to yourself when life gets you down, recognizing that being down is temporary.

Incredible things can be birthed from barren seasons. Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah was barren for years and when both she and her husband were advanced in years, they gave birth to John the Baptist, the one who would prepare the way for Jesus.

Hannah, the wife of Elkanah was barren for years and begged God on the alter for a child until the priest accused her of public drunkenness. But when she conceived, she gave birth to Samuel, the priest who would anoint the kings of Israel.

What will come from your barren season?
At 78yrs, Donald Trump is back to the white house as president of US after his first term ended in chaos and condemnation. Movements away from Trump four years back was not limited to just his political allies, it extended to the corporate world, as dozens of large companies – including American Express, Microsoft, Nike and Walgreens – announced suspension of support for Republicans because of the poverty of the brand Trump at the time. That was Trump’s dark season. People would have thought his political career was shut, particularly looking at his age; but that was his barren season and that was temporary. It was just one of his darkest seasons. The BBC reported Trump’s win in the US 2024 general elections as “such an extraordinary reversal of a political fortune for the 78-year-old”. Today, Elon Musk, the man tipped to become the world’s first trillionaire by 2027 associates with and sponsors the brand Trump.

In 2016, John Mahama was embarrassingly trolled for losing the 2016 elections with underwhelming 1million votes difference, a record previous data and political analysts described as unprecedented both in Ghana and Africa. In an extremely embarrassing fashion, the former president was trolled by his political opponents for years but that was his barren season. It was his dark days, and it was temporary. God knew what he was preparing John Mahama for. 8yrs down the line, he returns to the flagstaff house as the most celebrated Ghanaian politician in the fourth republic with overwhelming record braking win of over 76% with over 1.7million vote’s difference, another unprecedented record, shutting his critics and everybody up altogether.

Be careful the way you treat people when they are down, they may be up and potentially become higher than you are in their next season. In 2025, treat people differently! Approach people who are down with caution knowing it is just their season of bareness preceding their seasons of fruitfulness.

Don’t get too excited when you succeed and don’t get too disappointed when you fail. Maintain your balance and keep your cool. Failure is not the opposite of success, they are part of the same process.

Congratulations for making it to 2025. Many started 2024 so well but could not pull through. Be glad you are here. It’s a blessing to be alive. 2025 will definitely be better.

Happy New Year!
Written By Peter Suaka
Lecturer, part-time, UEW CODeL Email – [email protected]