The change of seasons brings new colors, but the cool temperatures also bring the end of life to many once beautiful plants. They will soon wither and turn brown. But a miraculous thing happens to some plants. In dying, they produce seed, and next spring there will be new life, multiplied!
The same thing happens in our new life with Christ. It may seem like we are living radiantly…until we come to know Christ, and then a dying process must begin. We must die to ourselves, surrendering our old self to Him, exchanging our old dreams for His…and then we see new life!
Even though I know His plans are unfathomably good, His promises are not broken and He is completely unchanging and faithful, for me, the dying process is a daily one. Some days I’m in a virtual tug-of-war with the Lord, trying to take control. I know I just mess things up when I do this, and yet, in my humanness I continue to do so. It’s not that I want to go back to the ‘old’ life; it’s just that some seasons bring too much change, unpredictability and even heartache.
We are in such a season now. We thank the Lord for breaking our hearts for the things that break His, and for changing our lives through the miracle of adoption, but following Him is not always easy. Life for our child adopted as a teen has been difficult. He can’t fathom a ‘happily ever after’ because he’s never seen one. And he struggles with the idea that he could truly be loved. As his parents, we are fighting for every opportunity to help him excel. Above all else, he needs to know God’s love. Unfortunately for our son, it must be given in our human, futile, failing strength ~ unless we daily receive the Lord’s renewed mercies and lean on Him!
We know that spring will come, and with it, new life!
