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A Change of Seasons

By May 23, 2013August 30th, 2022Devotional

As you know, I have been assessing what the next chapter in my life will look like. I have a great peace about the things that have been accomplished during the past several years and now I am trying to figure out what the future will hold. It’s a happy problem – I learned long ago that you don’t move on to another assignment until you learn whatever it is that God had in store for you at the thing you are currently doing. On hindsight, I can almost go back to the beginning of my career and see what I learned at each place and how those things have multiplied on one another to take me where I am today.

And then I spoke with my brother Doug and he is in the process of making decisions that will impact him for the rest of the his corporate life. He is a little younger than I am but he is already thinking about financial independence and planning on how his real estate acquisitions will provide an income for him as he contemplates a life after studying medicine and being a doctor.

But the largest change on the horizon is the one that Janet will go through with her ministry team. For more than seven years, Janet and a small group of dedicated volunteers have met monthly to prepare “green” bags to be taken by members of the congregation and filled with donations of food. The bags are given to people in the community who need food and are finally recycled. Janet’s team makes sure each bag has an item list and that the bags are prominently displayed after each church service. Well, our church has determined that there is no longer a need for the “green” bag team and so this month was the last time that Janet will be able to work with her group and catch up on all the news among its members.

Remember, this group of quiet volunteers has done this program for more than 7 years – together! They live in community together and can’t wait to get together each month. They are all quiet people who serve with grace and humility. Apparently, they haven’t been vocal enough (that’s not their style) and so the ministry has been taken over by another group. So sad… These folks don’t really want to do something else – they loved what they did.

But I guess the times – they are a changin’… So Janet is a little down this evening. And my brother Doug is thinking about whether he is making the correct decisions for his practice; and I’m anticipating the next chapter of my life. All in all, we are each dealing with the close of one chapter and the start of another in markedly different ways. The verse for this evening is a familiar one, from Ecclesiates 3:1, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven”.

My encouragement this evening is that God will have a number of seasons for you to experience as well. Sometimes, these are welcome changes and at other times, as is the case with Janet, the transition can be a difficult one. Certainly, as we age, we will also face changes in the way we live and perhaps even where we live. It is a part of the fabric of our lives. My prayer this evening is that you will embrace the changes in your life. After all, God doesn’t waste anything and if you are being moved in your assignment, that must mean that God has prepared you for the next part of your journey. Try to live out God’s dreams for your life – because they are better than any plan you could have put together yourself. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…

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