In an instant.
I guess most unexpected change happens this way. But it still catches us off guard, doesn't it? It certainly catches me off guard every. single. time. All the potentially unseen things that lead up to that change may take days, weeks, months, or years, but that "things will no longer be the same after this" kind of feeling usually happens from one moment to the next.
In an instant on this day last year. Before the sun had come up on that Monday morning. What I thought would be caring for my mom during her recovery from surgery turned into walking through the wilderness of stroke recovery.
The new normal brought about by this life change looks differently every few days. That was true last March, and it’s still true today a year later. I'm a creature of habit that loves routine, so the comfort I usually receive from that has been harder to find. Mom's strength continues to grow a little bit each day, as does mine. Unexpected change often reveals strength you never even knew you had.
"The answer to our prayers does not always mean God heals us of the suffering. Sometimes, it means we are sustained through it."
Taylor S. Schumann, When Thoughts and Prayers Aren't Enough
"The only thing constant is change," or so the quote goes. A quick Google search informs me that a Greek philosopher by the name of Heraclitus wrote this. An even quicker reading of the Wikipedia entry shares that the primary focus of his philosophy was on becoming. In philosophy, becoming is the possibility of change in a thing that has being, that exists. Heraclitus uses the imagery of a river to illustrate his point that things in life are always in flux.
While that vision of a river and change makes so much sense to me, I'm also reminded that rivers have river beds. It's the bottom, formed from earth and rock and what the water flows over. The shifting changes of the river's current are held together by steadiness. It gives boundaries and definition to that water flow.
It's what's left when the river doesn't exist anymore. Funny thing is, flooding and heavy rains will often be what it takes to bring that dried up river back to life.
And so it is with me and all the stuff I need to walk through on this side of eternity. The flooding and heavy rains that are brought on by certain changes in life that flow over me and threaten to drown me are held together by an often unseen, yet very present steadiness.
The Rock that hems me in. Jesus, my rock, and the one who promised to always be with me. The constant in the midst of constant change.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you,
and the rivers will not overwhelm you.
Isaiah 43:2 CSB
Until next time,
Becky
My debut book - Glimpses of Love: The Most Excellent Way of Imperfection - is available now on Amazon.
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Oh Becky, such beautiful words and a powerful reflection about the river bed as foundation. I so feel for you as you talk about this anniversary with your dear mother. Only yesterday, I was with my dad in hospital, blindsided by another fall, and I found myself quietly singing The Lord Is My Shepherd under my breath, specifically focusing on the way Jesus leads us to the "quiet waters"—I was picturing a stream in my mind, and hoping somehow my dad could pick up on that and imagine or feel some of the peace of the stream He leads us to. This resonates especially today, thank you so much for sharing (and great pic! You can almost hear the flow of the stream!). 💗XO
Jen, I'm so sorry about your dad's recent fall. Walking alongside our parents as they age can be such a challenge. It shakes us to our core in so many ways. Thankful for words that resonate. Clinging to those quiet waters Jesus leads us to right along with you, friend!