Change is a constant in life. No matter how hard I have tried to keep things the same, the more I have noticed that change slips through my fingers like sand . . . or snow.
Whether you are reading this from the United States or Canada, your political landscape will be changing in 2025; we will all celebrate another birthday (unless we leave this earth to spend an eternity with Jesus); if you have young children, they will start another year in school; maybe it's time to retire; or maybe it's time to start a new chapter in your life. Change. Love it or hate it, we all experience it.
"Would you like to receive the Seniors Discount, sir?" asked the cashier at the local drugstore.
After taking a gulp and a deep breathe, I asked, "I'm sorry, what? How old do you think I am?"
"Well, sir, if you are 55 and over, you qualify to receive 20 percent off every Thursday on regularly priced goods."
It was unexpected, and I found it a challenge to accept that I was now of "senior age," but I am grateful to keep that extra coin in my jeans. And my kids had a good chuckle at my surprise that she thought I was a senior (isn't that for 65-plus?).
We live in an ever-changing world, but have an unchanging God. The Creator of the universe, the Creator of you and me, is always consistent and always faithful, even when we are not. What an amazing promise.
We may worry about getting older or our growing children. We might be concerned about the political landscape. We could be anxious about what the next chapter in our life will look like or the closing of our current chapter.
Whatever changes may weigh on our hearts and minds, we can hold on to the promise that God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways. (Isaiah 55) And He encourages us not to worry but, rather, to focus on Him. (Matthew 6)
In Psalms 138:8, David wrote "The Lord will work out his plans for my life - for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me."
Although we don't know the exact circumstances that inspired this particular psalm, we do know that David had been chosen as the next king, by God, and the current king, Saul, relentlessly pursued David to kill him. Ultimately, David was crowned the next king, but not before enduring a roller coaster of relationships, safety and turmoil in his soul.
I find it encouraging and peace enveloping to remember that the Lord will work out his plans for my life and my family, and I need not worry.
Take heart, Reader. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace because you trust in Him. If you don't know Him, but want to, it's as easy as admitting you have made mistakes in your life, believing that Jesus is God's Son and that He died on the cross for you and rose from the dead, and wants a personal relationship with you.
Change, albeit hard, is good. Remember, although our world is constantly changing, our God is not. And in that, we can take mighty courage.
