There are only two things that never truly change. The first is that change itself is inevitable. We grow older, mature, watch loved ones age, children grow up. As individuals, we ourselves are constantly in a state of change, hopefully learning from past errors and becoming better people as a result. This is not always the case, as we have the capacity as well to react to hardship or trial in ways that make us calloused, harder, or turn inward to insulate ourselves as an act of self preservation.
Our world around us is also in a state of constant flux. As time marches forward, we see the seasons change around us, most notably in fall when the trees adorn themselves with resplendent colors of saffron, orange, scarlet and gold. This too, is temporary, fleeting. As foliage falls we are reminded of death and its necessity for resurrection.
All around us, plants are converting starlight into carbon, growing taller, providing fruits, vegetables, and substance for the ecosystem.
This evening, as I stand on the African plains, bathed in moonlight, I am reminded once again of how unchanging the force of change truly is. Twenty years ago when I lived here in southern Kenya, looking out across the plains at night one would not see a single light, save for for when the lions were attempting to steal cattle from neighboring villages. Tonight, as I scan the darkened horizon, I can see the dim wink of solar lights in permanent structures of homes, as pastoralists have had to trade their nomadic lifestyle for one of permanence as demarkation policies have gone into full effect and the land is subdivided for families.
I spoke of this inevitable change in a post I penned four years ago, when I returned to Olderkesi to visit my friends here titled ‘Winds of Change’, and I am reminded afresh of the change I have seen in my own life, as the Holy Spirit began to soften my own proud heart, and tune it towards the Lords will and my calling as an itinerate missionary. In the early days of Beehive Global Collective there were a few things we did not get right on the mark, as I believed that I had all the answers to questions that had yet been asked. I was haughty, confident to a fault and due for being knocked down a peg or two. But God was patient, and He never abandoned me. In fact, in HIs infinite love He allowed mysteries mistakes in order to bring about change in my own heart.
And that brings us to the second thing that is unchanging: the deep, deep love our Father in Heaven has for us. Love enough to give us free will, and love enough to redeem our mistakes and pardon our sins. A love that will not fail, which will work all things together for His good. Never abandoning, always seeking, never changing Love.
From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. Acts 17:26-27