It’s a big season in the life of my family, and even bigger seasons are coming faster than we know. Oh, we know they’re coming…but the speed with which they’re approaching is astounding.
“High school will move at mach speed,” they warned me. “Just hold on to every moment. You’ll see.”
My skepticism was very real, though. Oh, I would nod and accept their helpful pointers, but I couldn’t see how the four years up ahead would possibly go any faster than the fifteen that had preceded them.
I was wrong. The years stretching from freshman year to senior pictures and senior sunrise and…and…and…have gone ridiculously quickly. I didn’t see how it was possible…but oh, it is. Now I’m the seasoned mama telling freshman mamas to embrace what’s coming because “high school will move at mach speed.” I see their polite nods and their skeptical eyes and think, “Oh…you’ll see.”
While we still have a year or so until the Big Change of college, I’m keenly aware every day that the year ahead will fly by. I was praying about it yesterday (if God gets tired of certain prayers, this will be a subject He certainly will tire of), telling the Lord how hard the anticipation of the change is. I see it coming a mile a minute, but there’s nothing I can do to slow it down or, heaven forbid, stop it.
Would I really want to stop it if I could? Not sure.
As I prayed, though, I had a very real sense of the Holy Spirit whispering into my own spirit, saying, “Don’t worry, Jess. I am in charge of the change.”
It sounds strange, but the peace that fell over me with that simple statement was amazing. I knew it, of course…but the Lord’s reassurance that He’s in control of even the things I know little about was a tremendous comfort. He’s in charge.
The implications of that are profound. If He’s in charge, it doesn’t really matter what the season looks like or how it goes or what we’ll face. There is more that we do know, and we can lean on that.
God is good. He uses all things for good. Even painful or scary or uncomfortable seasons will work together for His glory and our good. He is faithful. He is kind. His plans for us are perfect, and He intends to prosper us – not harm us – with every change that comes our way. He finishes what He starts, so we don’t have to worry that He’ll leave us in the middle of the hard, and He doesn’t change His character or His mind.
In short, we’re safe if He’s in charge of the change.
I don’t know if you’re on the cusp of a major change or not. As my pastor likes to say, you’re either there now, you just were there, or you’re about to be. Change is a certainty, but thankfully so is God’s goodness in the midst of it. We can rest assured that whatever adjustments and transitions are up ahead are in good hands, and that while we don’t know what’s coming, whatever it is has already passed through the loving and capable hands of our Father.
He’s in charge.
We’re okay.