Times of Change
By Paulette Williams --
Are you in a time of adjusting to a new season of your life? Are you engaged in some change: a new job? A change in family? A new ministry? A new medical condition you or your family are adjusting to? Most of us go through many changes throughout our lives. One of the biggest adjustments for me personally was when our children were leaving home and we were becoming “empty nesters.” This is a normal change in parents’ lives but it also a loss as it is the beginning of a new relationship with your children. As a mother, I knew almost everything that was going on in their lives every day, but that was no longer true. What a change! Another major change for me was when my mother became very ill, and I became one of her primary caregivers. I was a young mom with four children, so it was a huge adjustment for me and the family as I cared for my sweet mother daily. This was also a loss because our relationship changed from her taking care of me to me taking care of her. There have been many other changes in my life through the years, just as I’m sure there have been in yours.
The most recent change for me happened a few months ago when, because of age related changes in my capacity and health, I resigned from several ministries in which I have loved serving for many years. I knew it was time for this, but it was still a loss. And yet I know God has more in store for me. I know He is not finished with me yet.
One thing I have observed about these times of change and adjustment, is that they make me more aware of my need for God and more desperate for His companionship. I hunger more for Him, and the desire to draw closer to Him is strong. And that drives me to His word where that hunger is satisfied by Him.
This term in Women’s Bible study, we are studying Psalm 107. It is a description of God’s people going through various difficulties and, in their desperation, calling out to God. He responds by rescuing them because of His steadfast love for them, which results in their praise to Him. I identify with their desperation and their need to know God’s presence in my times of difficult change and adjustment. Difficult times can lead to a new acknowledgement of our brokenness and desperate need for our God. And He is faithful to respond to us and draw us even closer to Himself.
A related note: the CORE 1 course begins this Sunday at 12:30pm. The spiritual skills that I learned and the gentle accountability of friends that I experienced in CORE helped me tremendously to experience the companionship of Jesus in the routines of my life, not just in the difficult times of change and adjustment.
Are you hungry for His presence? Let that hunger drive you to Him in His word, and let Him satisfy you there.
In Him,
Paulette