Changing Circumstances

 When it comes to entering into the communion closeness afforded to us through Immanuel, I seem to realize it in fits and starts.  While I may be on the road to practicing the accompanying presence of God, there are still those angry responses.  One day I may be filled with peaceful aliveness, and the next day I may struggle with being hurtfully damaged. Sometimes it is wholeness and grace; at other times it is uncertainty and insecurity.   

None-the-less God is faithful to continuously nourish and nurture growth.   One of the ways He seems to do this in my life is through changing circumstances.    

Our move to Mexico has been one of the greatest circumstance changers for our family.  It wrenched us out of a self-imposed comfort zone and turned our world upside down.  The simplest of tasks became a chore – transportation, communication and even health.  “Don’t eat there; don’t eat that; soak all your fruits and veggies in microdine; never drink the water, use Traida for vomiting and diarrhea,” were everyday comments and considerations. 

After we had been there for a few months, Daniel started complaining of a reoccurring stomach ache.  Sadly enough, I thought he was just making excuses and showed little sympathy.  Finally, in order to make my point we took him to the doctor.  Turns out he had e. coli, e. histolytica, and giardia.  The doctor prescribed medication, and we went home to research it in a book entitled Where There Is No Doctor.  It read, “Medicine may cause blindness and even death.”  Panic ensued. 

This incident captures the emotion and uncertainty that changing circumstances can create.  What I have discovered is that God uses them to show us both our weaknesses and give us the gift of desperation for Him.  The good and the difficult, the seen and the unforeseen, the big and not so big dislodge us from our confident complacency.  We come to a place of need.

Adjusting to another country is just one good example, but our lives are filled with other countless possibilities: children move away, a vocation is changed, health suffers, babies are born, new neighbors move in, loved ones grow older, a letter comes in the mail, finances are short, new opportunities come, others misunderstand, mid-life arrives, children marry.  On and on it goes.  At each corner God is waiting with the fellowship promise of, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”