The Bible for Women

Weekly Devotional

The following was sent to me by a friend and colleague,

Stella Ramsdell

Facing Change

On my coffee table sits a very old kaleidoscope. A kaleidoscope is a
tube with mirrors and small bits of colored glass inside. When it is
moved, the bits of glass falling against the mirrors form beautiful,
colorful patterns. One slight shift and those designs disappear as
others appear. I like to look inside to see the beautiful, colorful,
ever-changing designs.

Often our lives seem like kaleidoscopes. We see everything in the most
beautiful planned design until one slight shift changes the pattern. Our
lives can be changed by a move to a new home, an illness, a death, or
the birth of a child. Sometimes it feels as though we hardly have time
to appreciate one design before another appears.

During those times of change we can place our trust in God, Who does not change. God knows the patterns of our lives and can guide us to allow a beautiful design to shine forth.

Dell Smith Klein

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the
Heaven
(Ecclesiastes 3:1).

This reminds me of Psalm 8:3-4 which states, "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set into place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?"

There are many things in our lives that change. We face transitions, our families face transitions, our friendships face transitions. We have control over some of these changes, but in some cases, we have no control over the direction of our lives. Sometimes others around us make choices that impact us. Sometimes a death separates us from the people we love. These are the times that we must trust God to love us, to wrap his arms around us and to hold us close. These are the times that we must dig into His Word, spend time with Him and draw near to Him. The Bible tells us that God hears the prayers of the righteous. The Bible tells us that God does have a plan for us and God's word tells us that His ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. Change is difficult, but we can embrace it with God's help and guidance. God does care for us. He does know our names. He does know our hearts. Who are we that he would call us by our name? Who are we that we are in His grip? We are His. We are His.

May God bless you this week. Margie