Grant me the Serenity

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.

Welcome September

The black-eyed Susans are beginning to fade as September unfolds.

These beauties are my favorite. 

They always show up around my birthday in July.

Sunday, I watched the humming birds enjoy the last of the sweetness.

As summer fades into autumn, I appreciate the season's change. 

I love living where the seasons move in a cycle. 

Cooler weather is around the corner.

And that makes me smile.

 

He Stays the Same

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

The times they are a-changin.’ --Bob Dylan

When my girls were young and they stayed home from school due to illness, if they felt like it, we sometimes played games like Old Maid, Candyland, or Go Fish. We would deal the cards or set up the board and play until they were ready to rest.

The other day, my granddaughter called. She’d gotten sick. Fortunately, she was already off school and didn’t miss a day. We chatted for a bit, then she asked me to hang up because she wanted to video chat on Messenger. She’s nine and was using her mom’s phone with permission. When I answered the call, her pretty face popped up, and I could see she didn’t feel well. We talked for a minute, then she told me we could play a game on the phone. I had no idea. She clicked something and brought up Go Fish and we played two rounds.

The older I get, it seems like life changes at lightning speed. Perhaps because I can look back and see the history I’ve lived, yet one thing has never changed.

Jesus remains the same no matter how many years pass. He continues to share His love. There are days I think He should walk away from me because I’m a lowly human, instead He stays with me through the valleys and the peaks. He opens His arms and welcomes me in. He sees value in me and never leaves me.

He loves you, too. His arms are open to everyone. He loves like no other. He’ll be there through the best and the worst.

I love this song by Matthew West, The God Who Stays. I hope you’ll take a listen.

Plot Twist

Change can be hard. 

Yet, when the seasons shift, I enjoy the beauty. 

Autumn has been especially lovely this year--

the leaves vibrant and the weather glorious.

Change can be beautiful. 

I'm trusting God when life takes twists and turns, 

for He knows my future and my needs.

Like a novel--I can say, "Plot twist!" and keep moving forward.

 

The Butterfly

One thing the children in my daughter's class love to watch 

is a caterpillar's process of spinning a chrysalis, 

sleeping for a time, and emerging a butterfly.

God created those lumpy, bumpy caterpillars 

to go through a metamorphic change

and come out graceful and colorful creatures.

As I've gotten older and hopefully wiser, 

I realize that the dark times I've gone through

have helped me learn to rely on God more 

and be a kinder, more loving person in the end.

I may not be a graceful butterfly, 

but I am a child of God covered by His grace.

 

So Did I

Ephesians 2:8-10
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

My columbine cross-pollinated.

When I first planted columbine in my flower garden, I started with one or two plants. I had grown the old-fashioned ones for years, but when I moved, I failed to take them with me. Eventually, I gathered starts of white and purple from my siblings and added a pretty blue one. With their pops of color and lacey leaves, they add bursts of joy to my plot. As the spring flowers bloom, I'm reminded once again of God's handiwork.

Last year as I perused the early blossoms, I noticed a change in one of the columbine plants. The white ones generally have a multi-petaled bloom, while the purple and blue produce more of a bell shape with tiny curls on the edges. When I focused the camera on one of the white blossoms, I noticed it had a bell shape, too. The white had cross-pollinated with one of the other plants and created a delicate white bell with curls.

I'm fascinated by the work of God in nature. Of course this discovery got me thinking. When I as a human "cross-pollinate" with the grace God offers, I become a different person. I'm no longer relying on myself. Instead, I'm a child of God who relies on my heavenly Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Through Him my soul reaches a level of beauty I could not imagine possible.

Just as the white columbine changed and blossomed, so did I when I surrendered my life to Jesus. He has a good work for me to do and when I mesh the abilities and desires God has given me with his grace and forgiveness, I'm a new creation who by what I do, brings glory to my Father. I thank God for His grace and mercy and for the chance to make a difference.

Praise God for Jesus and for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

I'm Glad One Thing Never Changes

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

White dust drifted to the floor, from the blackboard.

Remember at the end of the school day wanting to be the student who erased the whole board, then went outside to slam the erasers together to clean them. Of course I just wanted to go outside, yet there was something about wiping the board clean that brought satisfaction at the end of the day.

Classrooms today have changed. Instead of a blackboard, my daughter, Sara's first grade class has a whiteboard she uses to either write on with special markers or use as a place to hang important classroom learning tools. There's also a smartboard, a large screen hooked to her computer, where she shares lessons, directions, and educational videos.

Classrooms have changed. Students are learning more now than ever. They also learn the basics, in new and innovative ways. Sara has been teaching for more than a decade and has had to continue to learn new and interesting ways to teach.

Change can be good, and most things in life evolve in some way. Look at our kitchens and compare them to our grandparents or great grandparents' kitchens. Yet one thing never changes because He is already as good as it gets. Jesus stays the same. He's always loving, and forgiving as He seeks our hearts. He's the rock I stand on, the One I depend on, the One I pray to. Jesus never waivers from being the Son of God, my perfect hope.

When I'm in the middle of uncertain circumstances and I'm not sure what to do, I turn to the One who stays the same, the One who loves me no matter what. I'm thankful Jesus is the same every day, and with confidence I can move forward and trust Him.

Count on Jesus in your season of change.

When I Grow Weary

Change or the thought of change makes a soul weary.

When I grow tired, I long to rest in God's arms.

That requires me to stop and seek my Father and His love.

He is my quiet place and my rock.

He renews my spirit.

 

Trust

Some weeks are harder than others. This is one of them.

A dear friend passed from this earth and entered the gates of heaven.

My heart breaks for his wife, one of my best friends, 

even as I rejoice in his eternal peace.

When life hurts and things don't make sense, there's only one thing I can do.

Trust in the Lord and his plan for us. 

 

Nothing But Change

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

The leaves they are a-changing.

As green fades and red, orange, and gold hang like jewels from the branches, I stand in awe of God's creation. On my morning walks, I take in the amazing changes on the hills that surround us. If I'm early enough, I watch the sky turn from gray to pink, orange, and blue. The clouds billow overhead and a breeze blows.

While I'm excited to see summer gradually fade into autumn, I'm not a huge fan of change in general. I get a bit nervous when plans are altered. I struggle a little as I learn new software, try a different writing technique, or drive somewhere I've never been. (Thank goodness for the GPS.) And good grief, 2020 has been nothing but change. Sometimes all the changes rattles my confidence.

When life throws curveballs—like this year—what do I do?  

I reach out to the One, I know without doubt, I can depend on. Jesus. He never changes. He's the same every day. His love and compassion stay steady. When Peter betrayed him, Jesus kept loving him. Even though religious leaders mocked him, He continued to speak to sinners. Against the custom of his day, He spoke to women in a respectful manner. Jesus made change happen, yet He remained the same.

He's the one consistent anchor. No matter what kind of crazy day I've had, I can open my heart and pour out my prayers to the one who always cares. As the leaves change, I know Jesus stays the same. For this I am thankful. Praise God for Jesus.

Love Your Neighbor

Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."

I love that God made our world in color.

From the kayak, I watched the sun cross over the fresh spring foliage. The shore, covered in trees, showed various shades of green. The sky moved from pale blue to sky blue to cerulean as the white clouds whispered across. Along the bank, rocks and pebbles rested in assorted shades of brown. Beautiful colors. All created by God.

In the hours before we took our kayaks out on the lake, I'd wrestled with how to respond to recent news of racial strife and sorrow. I'm an older white woman who has only walked in my shoes. I can't say I understand what my friends of color are experiencing, but I can say I care. 

I contemplated how to offer hope in a time of sorrow and help in a time of stress. But I'll be honest, I wasn't sure how.

As I prayed, I understood two things:

• What's going on in the world right now is breaking God's heart.
• God loves every single person he created, and he calls us as his followers to love people, too.

In Matthew, Jesus said to love God and love people. It's that simple. But sin has gotten in the way. Satan stirs the pot and throws in envy, anger, and a whole lot of other junk. He rejoices when he recruits one more person to destroy another human being, a building, a lifetime of work. He spreads his evil anywhere he can.

Together, let's toss Satan out and pour in the ingredients of love, hope, compassion, and peace. Let's stir in joy, acceptance, patience and understanding in whatever way we can.

As I floated in the kayak and soaked in the variegated world we live in, Jesus reminded me to love and appreciate people. He gave us different shades of skin, different textures of hair, different eye colors. And he gave all of us hearts for love, abilities to help, and minds to think. We are more alike than we are different, because we are created in God's image.

Love God and love people. Click to Tweet

Go in Peace

John 14:25-27

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

It's hard to let go.

Change takes courage.

Acceptance requires acknowledgement.

Some days I feel like I'm at the center of a hurricane, and I want to tuck in and wait out the storm. But I can't. Instead, I wrap my raincoat around me, pull up my hood and head into the eye. But I don't march in alone. The Holy Spirit walks with me. Jesus holds my hand. In the midst of change, difficulty, and acceptance, I travel with the One who fills my heart with peace.

Before he died, Jesus spoke to his disciples about a future on earth without him. As you might expect, they didn't understand he was about to change the course of history. They wanted him to stay. But he couldn't. God called him to fulfill a purpose, to give his life as a sacrifice for sin. As he prepared the disciples for his death and resurrection he spoke with assurance. Major change was about to occur. The revolution had begun.

Jesus left the disciples with a mandate. " Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." Perfect words to recite, as we march into a new year.

Go forward with Jesus' peace in your heart.

Be the Peace

He's my Rock

Malachi 3:6
"I the Lord do not change."

I've joked that the most consistent thing about working in a library is change. New software, new methods of teaching, new information, new ways of getting the information. Constant change keeps the library moving into the twenty-first century.

Monday, the three librarians I work with and I set up our office and a temporary library in two classrooms. We moved the essential books and whatever we needed to work in the space, while the library is getting sprinklers and new heating and cooling. I've lost count of the changes that have occurred in the eleven years I've worked for Clermont. But I can tell you this—I've struggled with every single one.

I'm not good with change. I like my routine. I like the workflow I've set up. I like my office space. Yet, every time a change has been made, I've adjusted (sometimes with whining.) But each time, I've learned the new software, pushed my office chair to a different desk, or moved books to a different location, I've adapted.

For all the change I see in my daily life, I am so thankful that the God I love, does not change. He's always the same. He loves me and wants the best for me. He's ready to listen to my prayers and answer them. God is the same—All.The.Time! No matter how frustrated I get, worried I become, or troubled I am, God stays the same. He's my rock. He loves me. He knows what's ahead and why the change is necessary. And he knows what's best for me. Praise God he is the great I am.

For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. Psalm 95:3

Change Happens

Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

It's the time of year when winter is trying to figure out when to give in to spring. On Monday we had a two-hour delay due to snow, by Friday the snow was melted with sixty-degree temperatures. The change of seasons is a normal occurrence in southwest Ohio, so I'm used to it. But what about other types of change. I admit I'm not fond of change. And it happens. Often. But more often than not, adjustment to a new situation brings good stuff. Even though I may fret and moan, an alteration in life may produce better circumstances, new people, and positive growth. But even positive growing pains don't always feel good. Sometimes they flat out hurt.

But the good news is, when I know a change has come directly from God and is not something I've caused due to selfish reasons, I have that wonderful peace that passes understanding. Even when I know the change may have a foggy future of uncertainty, God calms my heart and carries me through. I'm so thankful I have a God who understands me and knows what I need, all the time. So even though the temperature varies and life throws curve balls, God leads me through. He guards my heart and mind and I praise him for that.