A friend recently gave me a CD with the song “Every Season” by Nichole Nordeman. As I listened to the song, the words of the second verse struck me.
“And even when the trees have just surrendered
To the harvest time
Forfeiting their leaves in late September
And sending us inside
Still I notice You when change begins
And I am braced for colder winds
I will offer thanks for what has been and what's to come”
I have seen God’s hand in the changes of our lives lately. Of all the seasons, in the experiences of our lives right now, it is definitely autumn. We’ve had so many happy times, pleasant memories, and abundant living of summer. Now I am learning to surrender to His hand in the changes of autumn, first for one child, and now for the second in an even deeper way. We have had to retreat indoors, bracing for what is ahead. While we don’t know just what it will be like, it will be winter. I can easily thank Him for what is past, and I can surrender to His hand today. But I am grappling with the idea that I must also thank Him for what is to come, knowing it will be winter. Cold. Pain. Heartache. Winter. How can I thank Him for the pain my children will suffer? Must I? To not simply surrender to Him for what lies ahead, but to THANK HIM for it must be the hardest test of all.
Perhaps surrender isn’t really deep enough unless there is gratitude with it. Can I really completely surrender if I do not trust God’s actions enough to thank Him for the worst situations ahead, whatever they may be.
Lord, I am willing, but just now I don’t know how I can do it. I’m going to need Your help to be thankful for what lies ahead, even though it will be winter.
5 comments:
Heather - thank you. An openness and transparency in the changing of the seasons - a heart in the place of wanting. Wanting life and health amid other blessings for your children, wanting His will, wanting to surrender fully and then if that is not enough - wanting to thank Him. Is that what He says?.... yes.... and you are hearing Him speak. Oh - such an unnatural posture in times such as these! I will continue to uphold you as a family as you brace for winter. Whew.... yes - He does command it - and praise Him, He does promise that all things are possible through Him who gives you strength. I'm counting on Him to help you in this - I praise Him for you and with you. I praise Him for the gracious and loving God He is.
Yes, it will be dark, and it will be cold. So right then, when the days are short and it is darkest and the cold is closing in, we light candles and Christmas lights to push back the darkness, and we invite each other in for the warmth of fire and feast and friends and family. And we tell each other the story of the baby in the manger and the angels’ song – a blaze of light and a song of peace for the shepherds and all who sit in darkness.
Then the days grow a little longer, and we tell each other the stories of how the baby grew, of how he was the Light that came into the world and how the darkness could not overcome it, of how everyone who came to him was healed, of his invitation to a bright feast.
Then the days become even longer and we tell each other the story of how he was the Lamb who died in the darkness to destroy darkness, and how he rose again.
Then the days are long and the warmth returns, and we remind each other that he said he will give us peace, that he is with us always, that we are the light of the world. So we tell everyone about the Light who is the Lamb, and we tell them about the bright day that is coming when everyone who has come to him will be healed. We tell them how we know that this is true, of the spark that he has lit in us. Then we invite them to the warmth of Feast and Friends and Family in the city where there is no night, because God and the Lamb are its light!
Our new family motto~ One Day at a Time~with Jesus!
He does not lead me year by year
Nor even day by day,
But step by step my path unfolds;
My Lord directs my way.
Tomorrow's plans I do not know,
I only know this minute;
But He will say, "This is the way,
By faith now walk in it."
And I am glad that it is so,
Today's enough to bear;
And when tomorrow comes,
His grace shall far exceed its care.
What need to worry then, or fret?
The God Who gave His Son
Holds all my moments in His hand
And gives them, one by one.
--Barbara C. Ryberg
After the darkest night comes the brightest morning. Hold on to Him and He will be there.
Post a Comment