Changes
Changes. My in-laws moved from Texas to Kansas into our basement apartment. We are so glad to have them closer. But change is hard on them and on us as we figure out what our relationships will look like and how we can serve one another without getting into each other’s way. Changes. I used to live 10 minutes from my son, his wife, and their four babies (5 and under). Now I live 6 hours away. I miss the daily and weekly contact with them. Changes. After having my 7th spinal surgery in December, my mobility and flexibility have been limited. I can’t reach my feet to put on socks or shoes, to cut my toenails, or to lotion my feet. Thank goodness for pedicures! Changes.
Changes make us grow. They humble us. They make us rely more on God. They remind us that earth is not our home, that a better one awaits us in heaven. Changes require compromising our comfort for others. (My in-laws like the house about 10 degrees warmer than we do. I am hiding out in my office with the door closed and the window open! But I do it with joy knowing that they are nearby for their peace of mind and friendship.) Changes make us ask some of the important questions such as if our priorities are God’s priorities, and whether or not we truly trust God with all things. Changes make me ask if I am going to allow God to be God or if I am going to be my god. Some of these questions have to be answered one faltering step at a time.
Changes. You are probably facing some of your own. Maybe it’s growing children, elderly parents, a move, a job change, a death in the family, or another life altering happenstance. Author and theologian, Ian Maclaren, said, “Those who know the path to God can find it in the dark.” If changes are making your pathway dark and you are looking at the unknown with fear and trepidation, turn to God. He who saved you is big enough to keep you (2 Tim. 1:12 – “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day”). He who keeps you is big enough to bring you comfort and joy in the midst (2 Cor. 1:3-5). He who is big enough to comfort you, is big enough to turn all things for your good (Romans 8:28). Changes can be scary. Rest in God’s arms and find peace in the midst and guidance for your next step.
