The Constancy of God in Our Times of Transition

I was out running errands when I got the text. It was one of those days, you know? There was so much to do that I knew when I left to take the kids to school in the morning, I wouldn’t make it home before I had picked them up again.

The groceries were piled in the back of the van and I had just hopped back into the driver’s seat when the text came through from my son.

Mom! Turn on the news!

And in the next second, another text. This time it was a picture, a screenshot of a burning cathedral with the caption, “Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Fire.”

My son, the junior in high school, who had seen this on the news after finishing a physics test, sent word to me that one of our Church’s most treasured houses was burning down. I was stunned. Not only by the gravity of the situation in Paris (I’m sure we all felt that when we heard the news), but the fact that my little-boy-turned-young-man was perceptive enough to know that this was something his mom should be aware of.

Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was recounting the ways of the world to him? Times change, don’t they?

Swept Away

Times do change, and most often, whether we like it or not, we are expected to change with them.

We humans are a funny lot, though. When life slogs on and not much seems to be happening, we wish that something—anything—would be different. We tire of being stagnant, that proverbial stick in the mud that cannot be moved.

But as soon as life gets just a little too hectic and the changes start coming fast and furious, we may feel like that stick in the mud is being swept away downstream against its will. We begin to wish that normalcy would return. We wonder to ourselves and to God, why can’t things stay the same just for once?!

Seasons

Transition and change, though, are built into our lives through nature itself. God created our years with an ebb and flow, barrenness and abundance, death and life. The seasons move seamlessly from one to the next. Old things pass away and new life follows.

Just so, our lives have seasons. Sometimes, those seasons morph so neatly from one to the next that we barely even notice it happening. One day our children are babies and the next day they’re running down the soccer field. One day our parents are taking care of us and then we realize that the roles have reversed and we’re the ones taking care of them.

When we realize that our Good God has designed these seasons into our lives, we can see His hand of Providence more clearly. We can trust that “this too shall pass”—the discomfort we feel in our new role, the grief that rears its head when we think about what and whom we’ve lost.

Consistency in Change

One of the things we can count on in our human experience is that change is inevitable. There is consistency in change.

However, one of the things we can count on is Our Lord. He never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Steady.

No matter what our state in life is, no matter how chaotic and tumultuous we consider our lives to be, we have a Touchpoint that never moves. A Beacon to shine through our dark days and a Compass to guide us when we feel lost in our new surroundings.

When It All Seems Too Much

Sisters, I know that to some of us, this all sounds hunky dory, but our lives are just too crazy right now. There is too much going on. Too many changes happening at once.

Personally, I’m feeling the crunch at the end of this school year. I have one child finishing elementary school and making the transition to middle school. Another child is finishing middle school and heading into high school in the fall. And that sweet boy who took time out of his day to tell his mom about the devastation in Paris? He has his first real job this summer, will be a senior in high school next year, will turn 18, and then will happily move out of our house and transition into college. And with all of these changes happening for my kids, I can only imagine how my role as their mother will change...and quickly!

Your struggles are probably different from mine. You may be facing a change in your career, looking at a cross-country move. Maybe you are getting married, having a baby, or moving your parents into a care facility. The opportunities God gives us to change and grow are as diverse as we ourselves are.

The Word

I want to leave you, friend, with some encouragement for your journey. Choose one of these truths from the Word God has given us as your own personal encouragement. He tells us in Scripture that He will always be there. Let us cling to His steadiness when everything else seems to be shifting.

All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. (James 1:17)

But the plan of the LORD stands forever, the designs of his heart through all generations. (Psalm 33:11)

Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. (Hebrews 6:17-18)

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

God is not a human being who speaks falsely, nor a mortal, who feels regret. Is God one to speak and not act, to decree and not bring it to pass? (Numbers 23:19)

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

He is always with us, sisters. He says so Himself. Which verse will you hold onto in your time of transition? How does our Lord speak His constancy to you?

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About Beth Williby

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Beth Williby is a mom of four pretty amazing humans and has been married to her college sweetheart for twenty years. She does her best praying through singing and feeding the people she loves. Having grown up in the Midwest, she now calls Northeast Florida home. You can find out more about her here. Read all of Beth's posts here.