Recently my husband Dick, who is a pastor, comforted a
grieving family and performed a joyous wedding ceremony, all within less than
three hours. The pendulum of emotions swung a wide arc that evening.
For all of us, life is constantly changing. One madly-in-love
couple marries while two estranged individuals divorce. An anxiously awaited child
is born and a beloved husband passes into the arms of Jesus. Retirement looms
in the near future for one who has served faithfully in the same profession his
whole life; at the same time, a well-educated man finds himself job-hunting
once again due to company down-sizing. A widow moves to a smaller, income-based
apartment, while a young family purchases a house large enough to accommodate
their dreams. Children and grandchildren grow from infancy to adulthood and our
role as parents change right along with the changes occurring within them.
Several of these changes are occurring right now for Dick
and I, and for those we hold most dear. At times, I have tried to dig my heels
in and resist the inevitable changes. All I have accomplished is further
fraying of already taunt emotions and situations. God reminded me of what Jesus
taught in Matthew 9:16-17:
“No one patches an old coat with a
new piece of cloth that will shrink. When the patch shrinks, it will rip away
from the coat, and the tear will become worse. Nor do people pour new wine into
old wineskins. If they do, the skins burst, the wine runs out, and the skins
are ruined. Rather, people pour new wine into fresh skins, and both are saved.”
In the face of changes, we must be wise and discerning—knowing
when to adhere to the old ways and when it is best to embrace the fresh, new
opportunities God is allowing in our lives.
Will exercising wisdom and discernment make these kinds of
life changes painless and effortless? Not likely. However, stubborn insistence
on our way and resistance to what God has planned only causes damage and ruin.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 “To everything there is a season, a time
for every purpose under heaven . . .”
What “old patches” or “new wineskins” has God brought to
your life recently?
Be encouraged!
Pam
©2017 Pamela D. Williams
