Change

Who among us has not felt the effect change has on our lives? Certainly, over the past three months we have all experienced how life can turn upside down almost overnight.

As I sit on my porch writing, the beauty of new life is all around me. Just a few short months ago, winter engulfed the view everywhere we looked. My flower garden at that time was nothing but hard earth, void of any sign of life. The air did not offer much at all either, except a chill that left me wondering if I would indeed see flowers and beauty in my garden again. Feelings like these seem to come around every year as I anticipate, and in fact, deeply desire leaving the darker days of winter behind. This winter, my mood was only different in that it felt more doubtful that any positive change was forthcoming.

Then, it happened. From out of the hard soil, hope broke through. Colors of yellow, pink, red, purple shot up as if shouting, I will not forsake you! I am reminded once again, that God is faithful. He has ordered even nature in the midst of change, to do the job it was intended to do. The sun rises every morning, the moon comes out every night, along with the stars in the sky. Oh yes, some days the clouds get in the way of visibility, but we can trust that, all of the elements are in place exactly where they are meant to be whether we see them or not. In the same order, the seeds that produce the flowers in the garden are just waiting their turn to appear and delight our eyes and noses.

After being on this earth for over seven decades, I have seen enough winters and spring times to know and believe that all of life is cyclical. Although we must endure some hardship and darker days from time to time, even these can make us more appreciative on the days when the sun shines. If our current environment causes you to feel out of control, let me encourage you to believe in brighter times ahead. No, I do not have any inside scoop that you do not have, I am, however, optimistic based on what I see when looking around me. The wind blows, and sometimes it brings with it, devastation. While we live in a beautiful world, it is not without challenges.

Lately, with the virus lurking around, I often hear the phrase, “we’re in this together, and we’ll get through this together.” While watching one of my favorite television programs recently, there was a scene where a teacher and her young students were on an outing in the woods when a storm picked up with high winds blowing. The teacher told the students “take someone’s hand” as they made their way to safety. We need each other now more than ever. I invite you to extend a hand to someone, and we will get through this, together.