--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And then God gave me insight: this was…" description: "\"And then God gave me insight: this was winter. It would end, in time, but not by my own doing. My responsibility was simply to know the season, and mat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/mark-buchanan-23815_absence_and-then-god-gave-me-insight-this-was-wi_2745383.jpg" --- # And then God gave me insight: this was winter. It would… ![“And then God gave me insight: this was winter. It would end, in time, but not by my own doing. My responsibility was simply to know the season, and match my actions and inactions to it. It was to learn the slow hard discipline of waiting. It was my season to believe in spite of-to believe in the…” quote by Mark Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/mark-buchanan-23815_absence_and-then-god-gave-me-insight-this-was-wi_2745383.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/mark-buchanan-23815_absence_and-then-god-gave-me-insight-this-was-wi_2745383.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/mark-buchanan-23815_absence_and-then-god-gave-me-insight-this-was-wi_2745383.jpg) > “And then God gave me insight: this was winter. It would end, in time, but not by my own doing. My responsibility was simply to know the season, and match my actions and inactions to it. It was to learn the slow hard discipline of waiting. It was my season to believe in spite of-to believe in the absence of evidence or emotion, when there's nothing, no bud, no color, no light, no birdsong, to validate belief. It was my time to walk without sight.” [Mark Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-buchanan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding that some phases are beyond personal control, and aligning actions with natural cycles, teaches patience and faith without evidence. **In simple terms:** Accept seasons, act accordingly, trust without proof. Key Takeaway Align actions with natural rhythm. Themes patience faith acceptance seasonality discipline Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual practice - decision making - waiting periods - counseling Key Concepts Stoicism existentialism mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can you honor a season without forcing change? - What does waiting teach about control? A Different Perspective Not all outcomes can be shaped by will alone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Birdsong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birdsong/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Inaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inaction/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Seasons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seasons/) [Spite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spite/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [I believe absence is a great element of charm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/i-believe-absence-is-a-great-element-of-charm/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [I became part of a little study group in community college and started caring about strangers. 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They said God was a man in the sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-coleman/god-was-something-i-did-not-understand-the-way-kids-who-went-to/) [Melissa Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-coleman/) > [Birds... scream at the top of their lungs in horrified hellish rage every morning at daybreak to warn us all of the truth. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/birds-scream-at-the-top-of-their-lungs-in-horrified-hellish-rage/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [“Birdsong brings relief to my longing. I am just as ecstatic as they are, but with nothing to say! Please, universal soul, practice some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/birdsong-brings-relief-to-my-longing-i-am-just-as-ecstatic-as-they/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“Facts swooped like swallows, darting across her mind; there was a rush of pride in things still remembered. Singing was limited to the perching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-guzeman/facts-swooped-like-swallows-darting-across-her-mind-there-was-a-rush/) [Tracy Guzeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-guzeman/) > [“A magpie can be happy or sad: sometimes so happy that he sits on a high, high gum tree and rolls the sunrise around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-thiele/a-magpie-can-be-happy-or-sad-sometimes-so-happy-that-he-sits-on-a/) Colin Thiele > [People who record birdsong generally do it very early-before six o'clock-if they can. Soon after that, the invasion of distant noise in most woodland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-adams/people-who-record-birdsong-generally-do-it-very-early-before-six-o/) [Richard Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-adams/) > [You can listen to a birdsong, and from the content of the birdsong, you will be able to determine whether or not the bird…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/you-can-listen-to-a-birdsong-and-from-the-content-of-the-birdsong-you/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [People find birdsong relaxing and reassuring because over thousands of years, they have learnt when the birds sing, they are safe; it's when birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-treasure/people-find-birdsong-relaxing-and-reassuring-because-over-thousands/) [Julian Treasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-treasure/) > [“Because the birdsong might be pretty, But it's not for you they sing, And if you think my winter is too cold, You don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-hanson/because-the-birdsong-might-be-pretty-but-it-s-not-for-you-they-sing/) [Erin Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-hanson/) ## More by Mark Buchanan > [“In a culture where busyness is a fetish and stillness is laziness, rest is sloth. 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At day’s end, spend time in prayerful reflection on your day: your comings and goings, routines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-buchanan/the-examen-is-a-form-of-personal-inventory-at-day-s-end-spend-time-in/) [Mark Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-buchanan/) > [“That's how I read the Bible. There are more than sixty references in Scripture to celebration and all but one or two of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-buchanan/that-s-how-i-read-the-bible-there-are-more-than-sixty-references-in/) [Mark Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-buchanan/) > [“There is too wide a gap, for most of us, between what we say and what we mean. Between our words and our thoughts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-buchanan/there-is-too-wide-a-gap-for-most-of-us-between-what-we-say-and-what/) [Mark Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-buchanan/) > [Here lies the basic flaw of all doubt. It can never really be satisfied. No evidence is ever fully, finally enough. Doubt wants always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-buchanan/here-lies-the-basic-flaw-of-all-doubt-it-can-never-really-be/) [Mark Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-buchanan/) > [“Forgiven people "prove" they're forgiven by walking in newness of life. They walk in the light, walk by faith, walk by the Spirit. Forgiveness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-buchanan/forgiven-people-prove-they-re-forgiven-by-walking-in-newness-of-life/) [Mark Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-buchanan/) > [“Author wonders whether God's proclamation of His natural mastery when appearing to Job might be about restoring a sense of wonder to world-weary man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-buchanan/author-wonders-whether-god-s-proclamation-of-his-natural-mastery-when/) [mark Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-buchanan/) > [Busyness makes us stop caring about the things we care about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-buchanan/busyness-makes-us-stop-caring-about-the-things-we-care-about/) [Mark Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-buchanan/) > [“Winter's not for adding things but for cutting things. It's the best season, the safest one, actually, to look closely at all the tangled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-buchanan/winter-s-not-for-adding-things-but-for-cutting-things-it-s-the-best/) [Mark Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-buchanan/) [Explore all 25 Mark Buchanan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-buchanan/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. 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The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. 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Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And then God gave me insight: this was winter. It would end, in time, but not by my own doing. My responsibility was simply to know the season, and match my actions and inactions to it. It was to learn the slow hard discipline of waiting. It was my season to believe in spite of-to believe in the absence of evidence or emotion, when there's nothing, no bud, no color, no light, no birdsong, to validate belief. 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