Refuge of Grace

Change makes me uneasy. The kind of discomfort where my stomach swirls and I’d rather run the other direction than cross the threshold of a new season. I want routines, on-time bedtimes, and easily manageable plans. The older I get, the more I realize the impossibility of this checklist. If this is you, friend, I am there with you, stumbling through each unwelcome change. And friend, I hope we gain hope together as, ever so tenderly, God whispers through fall’s changes: all the seasons, even the uncomfortable ones, I’m holding everything together.

Walking on this crisp fall day, cozy in a sweatshirt, the aquamarine sky spreads above. Each step pulls me further out of my own thoughts and deeper into God’s world created by His mighty hands. A leaf flutters past my nose, softly sliding on the cool wind. In front of me, a tall leafy giant stretches its arms toward the sky. Its leafy arms are egg yolk yellow, stretching further into a deep strawberry red.

Surrounded by these bold fall hues, I’m reminded of God’s sovereignty over every changing season. Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (NIV). God allows changing seasons in our lives, such as, “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4, NIV). He sees each death and tear and also every laugh and celebration. He is sovereign over all, making time for each part of life. Take heart, friend, even though change can be nauseatingly uncomfortable, what a comfort He is sovereign over it all.

I don’t know about you, but even though I know God is sovereign over each season, sometimes when change forcefully catapults into my life, I often feel I could shatter beneath its weight. As I stand underneath this canopy of color, my breath catches at the sheer beauty of God’s creation; I suddenly realize how small I am compared to God, the master creator. In Colossians 1:17, Paul writes, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (NIV). Jesus was with God as He magnificently spoke the world into existence and Jesus still holds everything together. As another raspberry red leaf swirls past my nose, fluttering to the ground, it whispers, No matter the change, we won’t be crushed because He holds this all together.

Hopefully your stomach loosens at this thought, dear friend—the One who holds everything together, is with us, even in gut-wrenching change. He sees the season change, making time for each intricate season. So, like the autumn leaves, let’s fall, allowing Him to graciously catch us. He holds us, changes and all, together.