Scary New Seasons
Storm’s coming.
Steady announcements on the radio warned of a lulu of a storm that was picking up strength, speed, and lots of water as it made its way across Lake Michigan toward my house.
I immediately started praying for God’s protection. As I reached for my Bible to read from Psalms, panic gripped my guts with the realization I’d left it at church the night before, since I was supposed to be back there this morning to lead another session of Bible study.
I had to rescue that Bible!
Take cover!
The weatherman’s announcement was urgent: “Take cover. The storm is due to hit our area in twenty-seven minutes!”
I calculated the drive time and decided to make a run for it. Rain pelted the windshield as I drove through the neighborhood and into the church parking lot. I kept watch on the darkening sky as I fumbled for the keys to the church. Once inside, I ran to the classroom where I taught several sessions of Bible study every week, grabbed my Bible, and tore back home, arriving just in time to get to the basement with my precious book for company. Hot tears of relief rolled down my face as I hugged the fat book with the busted-up cover.
Heavenly comfort
Some may think putting myself in danger that way was foolish. But that Bible had kept me company for decades of Sunday services and comforted me through the deaths of two husbands and countless smaller trials. It dispensed wisdom during the long years of parenting alone and pointed me to my Savior in times of despair and moments of temptation.
I clung to my Bible and waited out the storm.
New season
Recently, I began to notice I couldn’t read the small print in my tattered volume. I held on as long as I could, but finally caved and reluctantly invested in a super-giant-print one.
Go big, right?
In theory, I knew this new Bible would make my study time more enjoyable and was easier on the eyes, but the truth was that I missed the familiarity of my old Bible with its notes and scribbles and tear-stained pages.
Change is hard.
Have you ever been forced into a season of change? Maybe you’ve experienced a job change, or your BFF moved away. Perhaps your doctor retired (the nerve!), or your beloved pet died and you are feeling the loss as you navigate the unfamiliar without the benefit of your faithful comforter.
The good news about facing these trials and seasons is that God is in the business of renewal.
Sometimes he has to move the old stuff out of the way so we are open to the new. That was my experience. I decided to focus on what I could discover as I used this new Bible. So I opened to the dedication page and I filled in the blanks:
Presented to
Begin a new era without fear
By
trusting and obeying God
On
all matters
I’m depending on fresh insights as I use this new Bible. I’m taking a cue from Philippians 3:13-14 …Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
What new thing is God doing in your life or asking you to let go of? Leave me a comment. I read every single one.
Verse for today: Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? —Isaiah 43:18–19 esv
Prayer: God, change is hard. I cling to the old things that I know, the things that bring comfort even when you have something better for me. Lord, lead me to the best for my life. I know I can trust you to deliver the good stuff because you didn’t hold back your only Son from me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
P.S. Prayer: Please join us as we pray for provision, for peace, for kindness and generosity for and toward all those folks affected by Hurricane Ian and the heroes who are working around the clock to restore power and services. My mom is one of those waiting for her power to come back on.
Hi Robyn,
I asked you before if I could use your devotionals for my weekly post at Community Church where I work. You said I could, and this one is perfect for what has been on my heart for this next Thursday’s post. Thank you!
So looking forward to seeing you at Women Anew. I am on staff with Women Anew and will be sending you a snail mail card today.
It’s going to be a bittersweet weekend at Women Anew as they are saying this is the last one. Another reason why this post is so right for me right now. So many things are ending for me but I know God has great plans for the next step. Follow os on Facebook Community United Methodist Church Riverside OH. I do mention you in my devotionals and a few weeks ago I included the one with Dave in a hazmat suit.
Be blessed dear lady and see you in a few weeks.
Ellen
Hey Ellen, you can repurpose any of my devotionals.
I’m in FL doing ministry till we travel north to the Women Anew conference. Maybe hold onto that letter or just email me.
See you so soon.
I read every one.
I read every one, too. ??
Thanks for the inspiration to write today. I started writing a letter to you, I just ran out of steam to finish the chapter. One day you will get to read your letter I hope ?. You have been such a true inspiration for me. Please keep me on your email list. I love hearing from you!
Thanks,
Stacy
Thanks for posting Stacy. I’m delighted to hear from you and thanks for the encouragement.
Thanks for perspective on a new season. We are going through that now, and it feels strange. Your words touched a hurting place and gave me hope. Thanks!
What high praise, and what an honor to serve you. Thank you Cynthia.
Looking forward to hearing you speak on Nov. 5th, at LA Casa de Cristo for the Christmas Gathering.
Thanks for sharing. I too have a tattered Bible that I had to retire. It had my foot tracks of all the years I relied on God for my strength. Many of us hate change because change often is the result of loss or we feel like we are losing something. But really change can be beautiful, when we embrace it as God is changing us and shaping us into a new creation in Him!
What a beautiful way to make a hard thing like change sound good. Thanks for posting Gloria.
Thanks Arlene. Looking forward to being with you!
I have been a big fan of you & your uplifting talks. I have seen you at our ladies getaway weekend in Flagstaff Az & at La Casa De Christo church in Scottsdale AZ.
I have just been diagnosed with Lymphoma & am very scared & depressed. When I was in the hospital I had a visit from the Holy Spirit who instantly calmed my fears. I know this is in Gods hands & trust in him spiritually but my human feelings keep taking over. Please keep me in your prayers.
A friend in Christ,
Marlene Miron
Oh Marlene, that does sound scary.
Lord, we acknowledge you as King, Lord, Savior, Redeemer, Holy, Almighty and also Healer. Lord, touch Marlene with you healing hand, shower her with peace and be present in her every day. In Jesus Name amen.
I heard you at Gull Lake Women’s Day about two years ago. Last week we went for a motorcycle ride with friends and they were talking about a vibrant lady they sat next to in the very back row of an Allegiant flight. Turns out that vibrant lady (who they told should do speaking sessions to spread her story – not knowing you already do) was you Robyn. It’s a small world, and our God is in control of all!
Oh my goodness, what a small world. Amen amen!
Inspiring! Keep up the good work, Robyn!
Hi Robyn,
Thanks for this encouraging email. Yes, I know full well the pain and fear of change. Almost ten years ago my husband passed at age 50 and I faced a scary world alone. My family had all been moving far away from our hometown and five years ago my beloved uncle, the last family member near me moved to Georgia. Six and a half years ago, I got married again at the age of 55. Yes like you, Robyn ,I found it, really scary facing a honeymoon when I made Maurice tow the moral line for 10 months! He agreed but showing my body at 55 on my honeymoon – Terrifying! Also it’s really difficult for two people who are set in their ways in their 50’s and 60′ to make a go of a second marriage. But by the grace of God we pray together and God gives us the grace to do it.
A year later I had to sell my beloved custom built Southern Living Home that I’d built with my late husband on my sweet great aunt’s property and move to a town where I knew no one and leave all my former friends behind. A few months after I arrived here, my only child, Rachel moved to Montana with her husband who she has since divorced. I’ve had such a hole in my heart missing my child, but you have to let them go and entrust them to God’s care. Maurice worked long hours and I sat in a house that really didn’t feel like home in a town where I didn’t know anyone and wondered what was to become of me.
I cried a million tears and was comforted that God collects them all in his bottle. I slowly recovered from the last of my Lyme co-infections and slowly started planting new seeds in my new town. God gave me the idea to start a Welcome Club for transplants like myself and He brought wonderful new friends into my life. through that group. I’ve done my best to love up other newcomers to this quiet town the way I would have liked to have been welcomed here.
Then He led me to two wonderful guys who helped me bring songs I’d written to fruition. In our first three years of marriage we moved 5 times. We sold our two homes, moved in and out of storage when we were homeless for six weeks and moved Maurice’s mom twice before she passed away two years ago.
Through it all I’ve held God’s hand, cried when I’ve had to and kept taking little steps forward as I hear from God. Everything for the last six years has felt like I got spun in a tornado and was in a constant tailspin. I wondered when or If I’d ever feel settled again.
Praise God this year, I’m finally started to see beginnings of a good harvest of working with God and planting good seeds here. Doors that have been closed are beginning to open. The friendships I started four years ago are flourishing and blooming. I just keep believing God is in control of all this change I’ve been through and He’s working it all out for our good.
Thanks again, Robyn, for all your encouragement and the stories you share about God’s intervention in your own life.
Cherie,
I love your cheerfulness. Thanks for living in freedom and embracing change
When I have to go through change, I remind myself that the life I know and love now is the result of changes I had to make in the past! (Hope that makes sense, lol!)