Change

On Thursday the weather was great. My wife and I spent the day running errands and then cut up a tree at her parents house. I was out with just a sweatshirt and hat. It was a beautiful day. We cut up the tree and hauled it all away.

The very next day we got drilled with a snow storm. It was so bad that schools, businesses and our church all closed early. I got home late afternoon and helped Vikki finish shoveling our driveway. We woke up this morning to find another 5 inches of fresh snow on the ground. We shoveled the driveway and sidewalks again. I am really feeling it my back after three straight days of sawing and shoveling.

It is still snowing, so I most likely will be back out there later today or tomorrow.

With all this change in the weather it reminded me how much our lives can change. One day it can be great and beautiful and the next day a storm hits our lives. Change is a constant part of life. Things change at work, our sports teams change (I am a sports fanatic), our children change, our friends change, our marriages change, our community changes our circumstances change.

With all this change going on around us, we can get overwhelmed. When a storm hits our lives we can sometimes feel like not trying anymore. We don’t want to shovel out and keep fighting.

During the storms of life is when we grow the most. A tree is strengthened by strong winds, because it forces the tree to grow deeper roots. It is the same with us. God wants us to grow deeper roots and build our faith and character. Those dark times can be very difficult, but they help us draw closer to God, even if we don’t feel His presence. Those are the times we pray more, read God’s Word more, Cry out and question God. Those are the times we feel deep pain and hurt and have to work through all of that to get our lives back. We emerge from those experiences either stronger in faith and character or drowning in our hurt and anguish.

Sometimes we need help digging out. It really helped having my wife shoveling snow with me. It got done twice as fast. It is the same in difficult times. When we have a support network of people to walk through hard times it makes it go quicker. That is why I believe community is so important. My wife and I are in a couples group that meets on Sunday nights. I am in two men’s groups that meet every other week. I want a support network of friends that can help me when I am in need and that I can help when they are in need.

We never know when the next storm will hit our lives, but we all need to be ready. Don’t wait to pray, and build a relationship with God, do it now. Don’t wait to get into a small group, do it now. Don’t wait to go volunteer or serve God, do it now.