Goodbye to the Summer

Saturday we bid goodbye to August and hello to a new season. I know fall doesn't officially begin until September 23rd, but it's close enough for me. Personally, I'm more than ready for weather cool enough to warrant a jacket or sweater. I wasn't built for sunshine (as my pale skin can attest).

Every ending is a new beginning. Just as one meteorological season gives way to the next, so, too, go the seasons of our lives. Few people -- if anyone -- remain the same person throughout their lives. I personally know of only one person who said, "I'll be this when I grow up!" when we met and then actually did it almost a decade later -- and even he, after another decade, is in a decidedly differently career. Times change, and so must we. So we do. As different situations arise around us, we adapt. We become more brave, more patient, more irritable, more lonely. The person we were gives way to the person we become.

With that said, there is always some element of constancy in the midst of change. The seasons roll on around us, but we're still here. A new job or school comes along, but we have outside family and friends. Beyond all of these things is the constant presence of God. Malachi 3:6 says, “I the Lord do not change." God will never demand one thing one day and its opposite the next. He will never become evil, never demand sin, never seek to totally destroy you. He will always be a God of love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. That's something we can count on.

Leaves fall, snows melt, flowers fade, grass withers. Friends leave, family members die, jobs change. In the middle of it all is an unchanging God who will never fail in His love for you, giving you strength for a new beginning.