Change (written April 22, 2013)

Change is inevitable. Just as we have the four season of the year, we know that life is full of seasons of change. Kassie, my baby girl, turned 11 last week. Ian turns 17 this Wednesday. Isaiah will be 14 next month, and Robert will be leaving for the National guard on May 14. Cricket will turn 24 in June. Sometimes it is hard to believe it has been so long since they first became a part of my life. My life didn't have much change in it, until my Dad passed away. Ultimately, that change brought more frequent changes. Going into full-time ministry, moving to WV, pastoring, getting married, children, etc. I thank God everyday for all the changes. Everyone of the changes I have encountered has made me a better person. I can now identify with so much, I never understood before. That what change does, it teaches us about life. We should then, in turn, assist others in the life changes they are met with. My pastor preached yesterday on grace. It reminded me how I changed from being very judgmental to accepting and loving people no matter what. There is an old quote that says “I catch them, God cleans them.” There was a time I tried to do both and wanted everyone to change into my “image” of Christian. I have come to realize that though God cleans and changes our old nature, he uses our distinct personality to reach people. He doesn't want you to lose your identity. He saved you and wants you to become a saved version of who you are Yet he still wants you to remain YOU. Life is full of changes, and we have to adjusted and change ourselves. Through it all though God is our never changing God. He is the one constant we can totally depend on. He will help us be true to ourselves and Him through all the changes we encounter. I'm so glad that the Psalms wrote the promise and comforting words of Psalm 91. He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust." Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the Fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, 1 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation."