DIFFERENTLY His

A lot of LIFE has happened since I last wrote a blog – cancer diagnoses, surgeries, heart attacks, a global pandemic and quarantine, a suspended school year that required me to suddenly become a homeschool teacher, a new school year, buying a house, selling a house, and moving with a severely sprained ankle – just to name a few.

As I sit here typing in my new writing room, very little feels familiar. Even my fingernails look different, with a glittery polish that I swear was not the one I selected at the nail place last week. The room behind my laptop screen holds an entirely different view. It’s quieter here, without the sirens of a nearby fire station or the distant laughter and squeals of children on a school playground. Even the fragrance here is new, because I changed laundry detergents recently, and I’m not sure I like that “powerful clean” scent.

Different is not bad though … it’s just different.

With a world that is so rapidly changing that our heads are spinning from the centrifugal forces, “different” may feel like an enemy to our peace. “Change” may feel completely overwhelming. “New” may sound like a code-word for a forced way of doing things that none of us wanted or ever asked for in the first place.

Now, “nostalgia” – that’s where it’s at these days. We long for the way life used to be, how we used to do things, and how it all felt. Hindsight is 20/20, right? Well … let’s just agree to not use that phrase anymore, shall we?

But what if even now, God is still in our midst? What if all the events of 2020 are no surprise to Him? What if He really is using all of these things for our – dare I say it – good?

According to Scripture, these are facts upon which we can rely.

The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalm 46:7 (NIV)

You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

Psalm 139:15 (NLT)

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Romans 8:28 (NLT)

In the midst of the many trials we are facing; in the midst of endless change; in the midst of so much uncertainty; in the midst of a dang woodpecker that will not for the love leave my new house alone; God is still in control. That will never change. And that is where we find strength to embrace the present and the future.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

John 16:33 (NLT)

The world may look different, my little piece of the world may feel entirely unfamiliar, and tomorrow it may all change yet again, but I rest in the knowledge that my Jesus is walking right beside me in every moment. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8), and that will never change.

DIFFERENTLY His,

Nicki