Opinion

God’s plans don’t always feel wonderful. Sometimes His providence cuts right to the core of our being. Just ask Mary. Mary walked up to the temple with her precious eight day old firstborn son, and a stranger approached her. He told this very young mother, who was still sore and hiding a swollen postpartum belly underneath her clothing, that because of this child a sword would pierce her very soul. How could Mary understand what that meant when she looked into the face of her sweet baby with all the hope in the world? How could she have imagined that God’s great plan for this child would cause her so much pain, a heartbreak that probably felt unsurvivable? No, she couldn’t have known. Sometimes God’s plans, as good as they are, as purposeful as they are, as absolutely right and perfect as they are, come with unbelievable pain.

With Thanksgiving next week, I began to think about family and all the things I am thankful for. The things I am thankful for, hmmm… That is a very long list. I suppose the older you get the more things you accumulate to be thankful for.

In life, things are constantly changing, but while change is always occurring, some things never change. I have had many changes in my life the past few years, as well as changes in the world around me.