May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
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.
Luke 22:25-26
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you
cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
“Worry is worshipping your problem. Prayer is surrendering your problem.”
I remember the day I walked Sara to the huge yellow school
bus at the end of the short driveway and handed her over to ride the bus to
school. The next year, I repeated the act with Maggie and a few years later,
with Hannah. For a young mom, it wasn’t easy sending my babies to school. I
wanted to go with them and watch over them.
Looking back, now that all the girls have made it into their
forties, they were prepared for their first steps toward independence. They all
succeeded and two of them went on to work in the education field and one in
non-profit.
As a young momma, I spent time worrying when I should have
been praying. Over the years, those worries did turn into prayers. I still ask
God to watch over my kiddos every day. Plus, all the people we’ve added to our
family along the way.
Jesus wants me to trust him instead of fretting over
something I have no control over. Yes, I prepared my kids for school and moving
forward, and that’s all I could do, except pray and be available.
In Luke, Jesus speaks to the people and asks how worry can
add a single hour to their life. If anything, worry tears away at us. Worry
produces stress, which causes health issues and doesn’t take me anywhere but
into a tailspin.
Jesus’ wisdom speaks into my heart as I’m reminded not to
worry and instead to pray.
When worry niggles at
you, seek Jesus, pray, and trust Him.
Isaiah 41:8-9
“But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
James 2:23
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it
was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.
"We'll be friends forever, won't we, Pooh?" asked Piglet. "Even longer," Pooh
answered.
I’ve had a few book signings recently. At each one, I’ve met new people, and visited with returning readers and fellow writers. When I went back to my hometown, to the building where my library career started, I had the joy and honor of being in the presence of three of my dear high school friends.
They may cringe when I say this, I might too, but next year marks
our fiftieth anniversary for our high school graduation. Time goes too fast.
Even though I moved away from Lynchburg, I’m blessed to have
communication with so many I graduated with. Bev, Colleen, Garnet and I
reminisced, shared updates on our families, travels, and books we’ve been
reading, and simply enjoyed seeing each other.
There’s a song I remember from childhood, “Make new friends,
but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.” We may have sung it in girl
scouts. I’m not sure, but it still rings true. Those friends from our youth are
precious indeed.
One friend I discovered in my youth was Jesus. He’s a friend
who sticks closer than a brother. In Isaiah and James, we read of God calling
Abraham his friend. How incredible to be known as a friend of the Lord God, who
created the world.
Even when I have failed in my friendship with Jesus, he
stuck with me. He loved me and called me closer to him. I’m beyond grateful for
Jesus’ love and kindness and the sacrifice he gave, so I might be called God’s
friend.
Take good care of your friends and seek Jesus, who loves you
more than anything.
