Changing Seasons

by Lisa DeRosa,

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your Will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen. (adapted from original, prayer attributed to Reinhold Neibuhr, 1892-1971)

The serenity prayer seemed like a good place to start today as I wrote this post. Maybe take a moment to read it again. See if a particular part stands out to you. Rest in the goodness of God while you take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Need another? Take a deep breath and let it out slowly… I find that breathing fully and completely doesn’t come naturally to me these days, but I must prompt myself to remember!

The coming months will arrive just as quickly as they will fly by through autumn and into Advent and Christmas. My mind is blown by the fact that we are already in autumn here in the Northern Hemisphere. I am not quite sure how it happened. But as time continues to rush by and the signs of the new season are upon us, I grapple with the bittersweet feelings of closing one season for another.

I feel that I am ready to move out of summer and into autumn (maybe our southern hemisphere friends are ready to move from winter to spring?!). I enjoy the sun, sunscreen, summer foods, and all the symbols of summer that we focused on in our last theme on Godspace. And there are just as wonderful symbols of autumn and gratitude that I know we will appreciate and enjoy during our next theme of Thanksgiving and Gratitude. But this also means a move of a different sort in my life as well. As my husband and I prepare to move out of Washington and back to California, this change of life season is bittersweet. While the excitement of being close to family and friends is helping us forward, the thought of saying goodbye to other family and other friends is begging me to stay. The possibilities of new community, new neighbors, and new members of the body of Christ are motivating me forward, but the sadness brought by leaving our current community, neighbors, and brothers and sisters in Christ is devastating. These are the folks that helped get us through the pandemic time of isolation when we needed each other most. When our blood relatives and family were 900 miles away in a time of great uncertainty. We became family for one another. I am exceedingly grateful for them.

This change brings about an unexpected change in the timeline for my work as well. At the end of October, I will also leave my work with Tom and Christine on NewChangeMakers.com and Godspacelight.com and Rob and Lilly Lewin on Confessionsofaracialfirstgrader.org and FreerangeWorship.com. What an amazing opportunity it was to work with such lovely, creative, and passionate people!!! I will miss working with each of them and am deeply appreciative of the work that they will continue to do to inspire others, challenge the status quo, and point people to Jesus!

Thank you Godspace readers for the encouragement and comments over the last year and a half! Blessings to you as we continue forward in the changing seasons and fix our eyes on the One who provides comfort, peace, and hope in every transition that we face.

Photo by Fallon Michael on Unsplash

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