Mmmmm, I love fall. I love the vibrancy of the colors, the aroma of baked apples and cinnamon and roasted pumpkin, the crunch of fallen leaves underfoot, the crispness of the evening air. For someone who is not always all that thrilled about change, I sure do love the season that represents it. As the temperature drops here in the mountains, my hot green tea season has officially started. And I find that morning tea has a way of slowing me down and getting me in a “thinking spot,” as that old sage Winnie the Pooh liked to call it.
So much has changed in my life over the past few years. And I mean monumental changes. I think about where we were two years ago…
In the flatlands of eastern North Carolina…
Both in seminary…
Both with steady jobs…
And no kids…
Fast forward two years, and here we are…
In the mountains…
Spencer in physical therapy school…
With a couple of very part-time, a little bit inconsistent, jobs…
And a beautiful daughter…
And what is next? Because if there is one thing I’m learning, it’s that life is always in flux. In less than a year Spencer will be done with school and then I have no idea where we’ll go. It could be anywhere. And in less than three weeks our little girl will turn one year old. My baby will officially be a toddler. What???
Someone told me this picture should be titled, “Oh the Places You’ll Go.” That makes me want to cry.
But, change is inevitable. As much as I want to keep my baby a baby, she will still grow up. As much as I don’t want to leave the friends I have made here, leave we must when Spencer is done.
Faithfulness. At times like this it is my saving grace. God’s faithfulness “reaches to the sky” (Psalm 108:4); it “continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5). His mercies are new every morning.
Today His mercies toward me include having an almost one-year-old who is just discovering how to say words like “beh-bay” (“baby”…come on, you didn’t get that???) and gathering up the courage to take her first steps unassisted. They include spending time with amazing friends and just soaking in their wisdom; teaching Bible studies to teenagers and to college girls; leading a fitness class for some very enthusiastic moms; and playing music to aid in the corporate worship of a precious body of believers.
Tomorrow? I don’t know yet. But I do know that His mercies will be new, and they will be sweet, and His faithfulness will still be great. And on this cool autumn day, as I sip my hot green tea and gaze at the red and orange and yellow show in my backyard, I am very grateful for my very faithful God.
