Change is Coming, Always Coming
Starting the first day of Spring, change starts. One by one, each boy turns older. It keeps up until the first day of Autumn – that’s just how these boys’ birthdays fall. Each birthday, God says, “Change is coming.”
This coming change is heralded by the flowers in the garden – a beautiful reminder of easy and hard changes coming. Each Spring The Cleveland Pear Trees try to bloom too early, not believing snow is coming. Then blooms the lilac bedazzling with it’s aroma, breaking out always on the edge of a hard frost. In the garden, it comes quietly, softly. Sometimes through the mess of weeds that need pulling. First the bearded Iris’s, then the yellow and purple Baptista and Spider’s Knot, which gladly opens its blooms early in the day only to fold up in the afternoon sun. The peonies take a safe approach, hoarding its blossoms until assured of constant temperatures they burst open in God-designed glory until the May rains bow them low with tiny unmerciful droplets. Somewhere in all this, the tulips bloom while God whispers, “Change is coming.”
My fourth son graduated from college last week. . . . He moves out in a few weeks. . . . Change is coming. Change has been coming since my first breath, since each child’s first breath. There are so many I Remember Moments stored dear and deep in my heart. Little boy voices telling me they’ll never leave me, how they’ll love me forever and for always. . . mama, will you marry me. Mama, will you sing me to sleep. Little arms wrapping around my neck, trusting, loving, unable to imagine life without me. Even then, God was whispering, “Change is coming. . . .”
“Mom where’s my soccer jersey? Mom, what’s for dinner? Don’t touch me, Mom! Where’s the keys, Mom? No, I don’t want to hear The Parable of the Towels, Mom, but he stands there listening, eyes desperately wanting to roll backwards. . . . and God whispers, “Change is coming. . .“
Yeah! I miss the little boy – the little boy who’d go to sleep to my stories, holding fast to my love – and forgetting moments where I disappointed. Each morning, they woke with fresh mercies, fresh love. I’ve five sons worth of those memories – they don’t want to hear them, so I don’t tell them. I just remember the little boys I used to know – and some days, some moments, I pull those memories out and savor.
Change came. . . hands-off and hands-up change. . . and still more comes. These boys have grown into men, one by one, in their very own way. They have grown into men walking out their God-designed plan, choosing to either write their story with God or not. I am no longer invited to proof-read and make suggestions for edits which is as it should be. . . . Even in the hands-off and hands-up, change comes, always coming.
Soon the evening primroses will be telling me it’s 8 p.m., the tiger lilies will loom over the garden, the bergamot will try to elbow its way into every corner of the garden and the butterflies will come play in the zinnias. My children’s children come into the garden now where they will learn to water the seeds, watch them grown and learn about change at the same time they learn to taste a chocolate mint leaf. . . and God still whispers, “Change is coming.”
Change is coming. . . God tells me so. My story is not yet finished. I still continue to grow, to change, hopefully, into who God designed me to be. Not settling into a cushion. No arriving until I cross over into heaven. Growing from glory to glory. God has nudged, waited, teaching, always teaching until I now understand I cannot grow into His goodness without change, the easy and the hard change.
“We can all draw close to him with the veil removed from our faces.
And with no veil we all become like mirrors
who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus.
We are being transfigured
into his very image
as we move
from one brighter level of glory to another.
And this glorious transfiguration
comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
~ 2 Corinthians 3:18 (TPT).
Change is coming. . . He says so.
If I want to be who He designed me to be,
to know the depth and breadth of His love,
to see the bottle of tears He’s collected
to rejoice in the redeeming stories
of my children and my children’s children,
to live in a kingdom where
the intentions of my heart are revealed
to those who didn’t believe,
to see a world with no night
and God’s light better than sunlight,
to see God’s full bow,
not just the part we see this side of heaven.
If I want to finish the race and throw myself
into His arms at the finish line
to see an angel’s wings,
all those eyes on His chariot,
and know what the new Jerusalem will look like,
to hear Him call me by the name He gave me
before I was born
and feel the love of a Father without the broken world
interfering
and discover all the answers to all my questions
and see a street paved in gold,
hug the daughter who went to heaven before me
and meet my great-grandmother Mary Edna
and Joan of Arc,
to hear a lion purr
and scratch his nose without fear,
then I need God’s grace
to walk the changes coming.
Remember Me Monday: #39 & Linky
“I’ll make a list of God’s gracious dealings,
all the things God has done that need praising,
All the generous bounties of God,
his great goodness to the family of Israel—
Compassion lavished,
love extravagant.”
~ Isaiah 63:7, The Message
In the Old Testament, God repeatedly, quietly and loudly, tells his children, “You have forgotten me!” (Jeremiah 3:32, Ezekiel 22:12, to name a few). It’s a heart cry from a father to a child who has forgotten all the love, all the saving, helping, little and big blessings – and it leaves me stunned when I realize our Father, the creator of the universe, who knows things I cannot begin to fathom, who authors storylines that leave me amazed, delights in all of us so much, He cries out, “Remember Me.”
While every day is a Remember God Day, I am inviting you to join me on Monday mornings to come by and remember what God has done for you, for your family. Maybe God sent a cardinal darting out in front of you, as if to tell you, “I’m here,” or broke a child’s fever after you laid it all down at His feet in a 2 a.m. bedside vigil. Maybe He stood with you in the wait of a prayer sent out, or brought someone you loved to Christ. Maybe He healed your broken heart, gave your courage, or you gave Him your dreams as a love offering only to have Him give them back in an unimaginable way. Maybe God helped you survive to bedtime after a crazy Monday, or forgive yourself for missing it with your kiddos –– Whatever it is, let’s Remember Him. . . in a “Remember Me Monday” love letter.
“My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
Of your salvation all the day long,
Though I know not its measure.
I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord”
~ Psalm 71:15-16.
Let us delight in Him by telling the stories of what He’s done! If you wrote a blog post remembering what He’s done for you, join the linky. If you didn’t but still want to praise Him for what He’s done – write it in the comment section. Then visit a comment before or after yours! One of the beautiful things about the blogging community is the relationships it builds!
Rules? Write long or short, a list or a story, include photos or not. Just Remember Him and what He has done, and let the gratitude of your heart guide you. Let’s make Monday so Rejoice, that the goodness of God spills into the rest of the week!
Places I’m Linking at This Week:
Inspire Me Monday, InstaencouragementsWelcome Heart Blog, Worth Beyond Rubies,
Share a Link Wednesday, Legacy Link-Up
Grace and Truth, Faith on Fire, Tell His Story
***All photos marked with Muddy Photography or © Blue Cotton Memory or used within Blue Cotton Memory blog(s) belong Blue Cotton Memory. Going forward, photos will be marked with Muddy Photography.
So beautiful. Just tears here today, Maryleigh. Amen, Lord, let it be so.
{{{HUGS}}} Bettie! Right there with you! Maybe when God stirs the soul it makes tears!
Change is challenging, exciting, dreaded at times, and yet inevitable. I loved this post. Thank you for sharing with Grace & Truth Link-up. Blessings, Maree
Maree, Exciting – and dreaded! Such opposites and yet so true – and God uses both ends of that spectrum to grow us into good, better, best! Thanks so much for linking up here today! ~ Shalom friend! ~ Maryleigh
As much as I love my sons as young adults, I do miss the little boys they used to be. Change is a constant–but God is faithful and unchanging.
Yes! God is faithful and unchanging! So glad He is a good! good Father! Oh, Barbara, when those sons were young was, indeed, a beautiful precious time – and yet God grows and changes them, too, to be stronger than we could ever imagine!
They’ll enjoy the stories when they are Dad’s themselves & especially their wives & children will love the stories of them that you hold in your heart Maryleigh! 😉
My grandchildren love hearing the stories of their Mama’s growing up, often bringing lots of laughter at the funny moments. 😀
Yes, change is inevitable but I’m so glad God set it up that way for our redemption & new growth 😀
Beautiful tulips!
Bless you,
Jennifer
Jennifer, I am so glad God sets it up that way, too! I need to think about the stories to tell to my grandkiddos! Maybe it’s time to bring some of those out! The Tulips are a treat – they’re in Holland, Michingan! Shalom! ~ Maryleigh
Yes, so much change. Always coming. Congrats on your fourth son graduating from college! “Change has been coming since my first breath, since each child’s first breath.” I’m so aware of this since our new little grandson was born last week. The parents are too young to realize just how much change he will bring, but we are old enough to know that it is monumental and that it will never stop!
Congratulations, Lisa, on your newest grandson! A little over a year ago, my oldest son adopted a little boy from South Korea. They had two little girls – you’d think being the oldest of 4 brothers, he would have remembered all about little boys. It was a huge adjustment – because the girls never got into anything, but my grandson is quite the adventurer! Change – it has the potential for deep beauty! Shalom! ~ Maryleigh
Maryleigh, this was just beautiful. Change is not something I enjoy and yet, it is so needed in our lives to do the deeper work of transformation. Thank you for the reminder it is always for my good. Blessings!
Joanne, I don’t enjoy change either, but I’m learning – kind of like realizing I need to walk through the rain storm so I might as well pull on the galoshes, bundle into the rain jacket, and just push through the storm to the goodness on the other side instead of waiting and angsting about it! Thanks for coming by! Shalom! ~ Maryleigh
Change is always in the wind. God is our steady anchor!!
Amen, Michele! Steady anchor is such a good description!
This is a beautiful post, Maryleigh, change can be something we dread, but reading your post, makes it feel welcoming and non-threatening! Change allows us to experience more of what God has for us!
Donna, I am not a fan of change, especially when things seem to be smooth sailing – but I have learned that there are better things on the other side of God’s kind of change, regardless of the challenge walking through them! Sometimes I need to give myself a pep talk right before throwing myself into the changes coming!
Beautiful, beautiful poem and sentiments.
Thank you, Lauren! Shalom ~ Maryleigh
Maryleigh, this is beautiful. And you know it’s thrumming my heart strings. Change is always close. We saw when our kids were littles . . . just when we thought we had them figured out, they changed. Change is a constant reality this side of heaven. I loved this: “I now understand I cannot grow into His goodness without change, the easy and the hard change.” Thanks for this poignant reminder.
Jeanne, we learn so much about God through raising children! Why is it change so often comes with uncomfortable circumstances! I guess I wouldn’t want to budge if I were so comfortable! Shalom, friend – Maryleigh
Oh, YES! Change is coming, always has and will! Your changes are far different than mine, yet they still are orchestrated changes, when we allow God to lead us in the ways which we should go. I love you poem along with your poetic nuance within the prose. You are a fine writer, my friend.
I also absolutely think those tulips are so gorgeous. WOW! The curves of them and the variegated colorings. Just beautiful.
So glad I came by even late.
loving you, ~ l
Those tulips were a beautiful challenge, Linda! I had to slow down, wait, watch, click after click until I found the best way to reveal their beauty. Yes – our changes are different – our seasons are different – but I think the insecurities, the uncomfortableness in the new things, the need to trust, the need to not take our eyes off Him – the upside down lost feelings that rush over like a wave bigger than we expected – I think we both contend with those in some way. Praying that we both discover excitement and God adventures in these changes – and that we mine the joy within them! So glad you came by, too! Love you, friend! May God’s Shalom overflow! ~ Maryleigh
Maryleigh, hi! With all the change whirling around us, it’s such a comfort to know we are held in the arms of One who never changes. Oh I am so very grateful for His steadfast love …
Linda, His steadfast love makes all the difference! Your comment made me think of the scripture, “For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Do not be afraid. I will help you.'” ~ Isaiah 41:13. I am so glad he holds my hand in the hard places – really in all the places!
My story is not finished – amen! What encouragement! With change comes a new chapter, a new season. But the story continues:) Isn’t that exciting! Congratulations to your graduate!!
Jennifer, it is exciting, except for when you want to sit a while in a good place. However, I have learned to recognize the signs – that when I am in a good, comfortable place – that’s when God tells me it’s time to get up and move on to a new place, a better stage in the journey! Thank you for the congratulations! Shalom! ~ Maryleigh