Lots of things have changed in the past month or so. Loved ones have graduated--college and high school both--friends were married, new jobs were started, and lives were moved. With these adjustments, old things have been rearranged to fit into new places.
Friends I've known since I was young, recently downsized from a two-story house to an apartment. It's strange walking through the house, helping to go through the things that were left after most of their things were moved, and seeing rooms that I would've never imagined bare reduced to nothing but blinds and carpet. Even stranger than that is seeing those familiar things, couches, lamps, paintings, in a new place. While this is the start of a new season, for more than just the weather, seeing those things in a place that is not their home, or the home that I know it to be, seems so wrong.
Now, I know that change isn't always bad, many times it is needed for us to grow and become those people who God wants and intends for us to be. Sometimes we move and change because of choices that we make, whether those choices are by our selection or based on consequences. Other times things change because people make those decisions for us; that may mean God and his use of the weather, or your parents choosing to take an adventure to a foreign country with tea and crumpets.
In those moments where I find myself on the edge of tears, wishing that I could open my eyes to a time before, I hear strong words and I'm reminded of why I'm on this journey. "Strength, courage," He says to me, "don't be timid, don't get discouraged. I'm with you every step you take." It's not easy being hundreds of miles away from one you love, unsure of what tomorrow may hold for you. It's not easy moving things into unfamiliar places, or even those places that were familiar once but have been unvisited for a while. It's not easy walking into a new place, knowing nothing or very little and not getting lost in the tide.He understands that it's not easy; He acknowledges that it would be easy to stand against the wall, remain silent, and become discouraged. How does He acknowledge those things? By telling us not to do them! Then, He doesn't stop there; He tells us a reason why we shouldn't do those things--because He's with us every step of the way.
So as sad as it is to see just the blinds and the carpet, and as disheartening as it is to realize that the familiar smell of loved ones that remains will soon disappear, we must remember that soon, what is a new stage will be our current stage, the past will fade,
and new adventures will appear on the horizon.
We have to trust that those pieces of furniture that make the move into the new place are there for a reason. And we have to believe and trust, with all that we are, that those pieces that don't make the move were left behind for a reason and that the Creator and Author has something else to fill the void.
Father, thank you for your comfort. Thank you for the new opportunities, scary as they may be. Please help those that find themselves in similar situations as I do now. Thank you for reminding me of your love and steadfastness for me. You are unwavering. Be with those I love, no matter how far they may be; speak to them and show them the way you have planned for them. Please help me to trust you in the matters of the heart, regardless of the joy or sorrow that may come. Thank you for your firm and gracious hand. Thank you for friends to lean on and family with which experiences may be shared. Help me to listen and obey, not to ask questions or second-guess your decisions. Thank you for your promise to be with me always, no matter where that may be. How I love you.
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