Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” -The Serenity Prayer
This past week, I spent a couple of hours pulling expired
black-eyed Susans out of my flower bed. Their brown eyes winked at me and said,
“We’re done.” As I popped them out of the ground, I felt the muscles in my legs
pull.
As I ripped the stems from the soil, I found room to move
one of my lavender plants. I had planted the English lavender too close to the
French lavender, and the French version took over the English one. After
digging up and dividing the English lavender, it now has plenty of room to
grow.
Change isn’t easy, but it needed to happen in the flower
bed. The dead plants needed removed and the lavender needed space to flourish.
I’ve never been great with change. As I’ve grown older and
hopefully wiser, I’m a little better, but at times uncomfortable and uncertain.
The uncertainty is what stirs my anxiety. The not knowing why a change
happened, or why I should make a change. I’m sure you get it. I don’t know many
people who embrace a shift in life and roll with it, without struggle or
question.
In the flower bed, the process gave way to growth. Removing
the dead stems and moving the lavender allowed the garden to grow again. Even
though my leg muscles ached, the rearrangement of the garden was good. Most of
the time, change leads to personal growth, even when I don’t like it.
In life, I’ve had to accept the things I can’t change and
place them in God’s hands and trust Him with all my heart. I’ve had to muster
the courage to change what I could, still trusting God with the results as I prayed
for understanding.
I’m thankful Jesus never changes. He stays the same, no
matter what, and I can depend on Him.
Pray about change and trust God.
