I feel like I'm in the midst of a lot of change right now...everything I have been used to in the past is gone, and is being replaced by new unfamiliarity. There's definitely potential for good in this of course, because see...the Lord is always doing a new thing. And newness is often necessary for growth and stretching and blessing.  And yet...a huge part of me misses what was. The comfort of the familiar.  Maybe it's just a nostalgic mood I'm in tonight, I don't know.  Maybe tomorrow I'll turn around and be wicked excited and on fire about all the new changes and experiences going on...

Another slightly scary thing to me is that I'm not even sure I have a clear vision of where my future is going to lead me. I always had this clear-cut, black-and-white picture of the rest of my life. But now...that's kinda out the window as I realize...God's plans are way bigger than mine. How can I possibly try to keep Him and His dreams for me in this little box I've created of my small-minded plans? So now that I am realizing this...I am coming to grips with the fact that I have no idea where I'll be in 3 years. None. And while that scares the ba-jeebers out of me...it's growing in me a huuuuger trust in God. Because that's all I have to hold onto at this point.

One thing is certain...God is using this point in my life to gently remind me that...He is the only constant.  The only unchanging factor in all the universe.  The only One I can depend on.  The One who will never let me down. "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever" [Isaiah 40:8]. Oh praise Him for that. He's the One I can turn to, the solid rock upon which I can stand.

Sometimes I get led/deceived into thinking that there are certain people/things upon whom/which I can fully rely to fill a small part of me, to make life worth the living. And while of course there are certainly many who add abundant joy to my life by simply being part of it, and while there are countless that I can trust and depend on as strong brothers and sisters...they aren't that unchanging Rock that Christ is for me. I can't rely or lean on them indefinitely. Sometimes God has to gently remind me of that by shifting them out from under my lean. And I stumble then...perhaps even coming out with a scrape or two. What I thought would hold out under me fails yet again. And I slowly glance back around to find that steady rock ever near. Of course. Why did I ever stray....to trust shifting sand?

The Lord is my rock and my fortress...my strong tower. The steadfast, eternal spring of life and love and joy. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. My firm foundation, my cornerstone. Heaven and earth and all I have ever known here will fade, decay, evaporate. But His Word and Love will always, always remain.

Amen and amen.