EVERYTHING CHANGES

“Everything changes…Nothing stays the same.”

 

That quote is something that my mother frequently says yet something I have always wrestled with kind of disagreeing with it. I will admit just recently, much as I dislike it, I have conceded that indeed that is truth and it is okay.

 

My disagreement with that statement would be because, of my way of thinking which is,

“Once a friend, why not always a friend?”

After all, loyalty and faithfulness are good qualities, right?

 

 

And kind of like the saying, “If something isn’t broken, why change it?”

In this life, do you ever get into a routine with your daily activities and you just live life doing the same thing at the same time every day or week? Routines sometimes bring comfort and peace because we are used to doing them.

 

 

Consider how all of the physical world that God created He made to change……

….there are the four seasons

…the moon goes through changes daily

…the sun rises and sets daily

…the tides come and go throughout the day

…sometimes the clouds bring rain to water the earth

…animals are born and die

…there are seasons of planting and harvesting for crops

 

Photo courtesy of BK under Creative Commons License (CC BY-SA 2.0)

 

 

 

Consider how all of the people that God created He made to change……

…our physical bodies are constantly changing–we all start out as babies, then change as we grow into toddlers, children, young adults, middle age, and into old age

…our brains are continually learning and evolving–starting out with little knowledge but slowly learning more and more as we mature

 

 

 

 

…there are different seasons that may or may not be a part of our life–

–a season to be a child learning from our parents

–a season to a young adult where we learn more from this world and figure out our “purpose” in this world

–a season to raise a family helping our children find their way

–a season of letting our children go to explore their own lives

–a season of emptynest-ness

–a season of retirement

 

Each of these seasons may bring different people into our lives and I guess the truth of the matter is that sometimes the people may stick throughout all the seasons of our lives but it is more likely people are only part of our lives for that particular season.

Each of these seasons bring different events into our lives and I guess the truth of the matter is that the events do change….come and go in our lives.

 

Photo courtesy of BK under Creative Commons License (CC BY-SA 2.0)

 

 

As I was reflecting more about the seasons and changes that continually take place in our lives, it occurred to me that maybe God allowed ALL these things to change to show us the beauty that takes place.

Think about a little caterpillar…even it goes through changes during its life cycle.

 

Photo courtesy of Vicki DeLoach under Creative Commons License (CC BY- NC-ND 2.0)

 

What does those changes provide?

GROWTH

 

 

Photo courtesy of Holly Occhipinti under Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0)

 

 

And what does that growth then produce in the caterpillar?

Yes, a beautiful BUTTERFLY!

 

 

A butterfly that is ready to then use its wings to SOAR through this beautiful world that God created.

 

Isn’t that a great parallel in our lives?

We start out as little babies dependent on our parents for everything. But, each day brings changes in us both physically and in character causing us to grow. Each different season of our lives contributes to new growth in us and changes us.

It changes us so that we grow into the beautiful creation that God has purposed for us!

 

We become like that beautiful butterfly and get to use our wings to SOAR through this beautiful world that God created!

 

“Soaring with my wings” observing God’s beautiful creation!

 

I do believe though that there is one flaw with the statement

“Everything changes…Nothing stays the same.”

 

A more accurate statement of truth would be:

“Everything changes….Nothing stays the same except for God our Creator!”

 

Isn’t it cool to consider that God, His love and faithfulness, never change–they are always constant?!  Consider these verses:

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” –Malachi 3:6 (ESV)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.  –James 1:17 (ESV)

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.  –Lamentations 3:22 (ESV)

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?  –Numbers 23:19 (ESV)