Family of Grace,
It’s a fact of life that we grow attached to the places we’ve known for many years. We humans are settlers by nature, and it’s often hard to make a change. This past week, Natalie and I have been helping my mother-in-law prepare to move to Georgia. She’s lived in her house for over 60 years.
Her move has made me reflect on how, in an instant, life can change everything. We move through seasons—celebrations and tragedies, ups and downs, dark moments and bright lights. And if we have no faith, or only a little, everything rises and falls on circumstances. The world lends itself to living that way.
But I’ve found that if we stand on the rock of our Lord, if we lay all at the foot of the cross, nothing can ultimately defeat us, no matter what comes our way.
One of the largest funerals I ever officiated was for a 24-year-old soldier named James Hunter. James was young, energetic, and kind. Everyone loved him, and he couldn’t wait to return from his time in the Middle East to begin his career as a journalist.
Right before his military service ended, he was walking along a road in Afghanistan and was killed instantly by a roadside bomb. It was an incredibly hard and sorrowful funeral. We buried James with all the honors he deserved. Six weeks later, I accompanied his family to the Bluegrass Airport in Lexington to receive his leg, which had been recovered separately. We took it to the cemetery to bury it with his body.
These are the moments—circumstances that can so easily make us bitter and angry. In an instant, everything familiar can vanish. It feels like a blow to the nose, and life is never quite the same.
Yet there is something that never changes. God. The one thing—the only thing—in life that remains constant is God. Scripture tells us, “Heaven and earth will pass away,” but God’s Word never will.
It’s natural to hold on to what we know, to keep the familiar close and cherish it. Much of it is a blessing. But it’s inevitable that we will face difficulties, new circumstances, and change.
So I want to offer you this hope: God’s plans, His love, and His presence never go away. They are always within our spirits and our hearts. No circumstance can take them away.
Keep your focus not on the tangibles but on our Lord. When all seems lost, when all is going well, when something changes your life in an instant, remember that the unchanging love of God will always carry you through. If you can hold on to that, nothing can truly harm you. Nothing.
James
Rev. James A. Williams
Senior Pastor
Grace Resurrection Methodist Church
It’s a fact of life that we grow attached to the places we’ve known for many years. We humans are settlers by nature, and it’s often hard to make a change. This past week, Natalie and I have been helping my mother-in-law prepare to move to Georgia. She’s lived in her house for over 60 years.
Her move has made me reflect on how, in an instant, life can change everything. We move through seasons—celebrations and tragedies, ups and downs, dark moments and bright lights. And if we have no faith, or only a little, everything rises and falls on circumstances. The world lends itself to living that way.
But I’ve found that if we stand on the rock of our Lord, if we lay all at the foot of the cross, nothing can ultimately defeat us, no matter what comes our way.
One of the largest funerals I ever officiated was for a 24-year-old soldier named James Hunter. James was young, energetic, and kind. Everyone loved him, and he couldn’t wait to return from his time in the Middle East to begin his career as a journalist.
Right before his military service ended, he was walking along a road in Afghanistan and was killed instantly by a roadside bomb. It was an incredibly hard and sorrowful funeral. We buried James with all the honors he deserved. Six weeks later, I accompanied his family to the Bluegrass Airport in Lexington to receive his leg, which had been recovered separately. We took it to the cemetery to bury it with his body.
These are the moments—circumstances that can so easily make us bitter and angry. In an instant, everything familiar can vanish. It feels like a blow to the nose, and life is never quite the same.
Yet there is something that never changes. God. The one thing—the only thing—in life that remains constant is God. Scripture tells us, “Heaven and earth will pass away,” but God’s Word never will.
It’s natural to hold on to what we know, to keep the familiar close and cherish it. Much of it is a blessing. But it’s inevitable that we will face difficulties, new circumstances, and change.
So I want to offer you this hope: God’s plans, His love, and His presence never go away. They are always within our spirits and our hearts. No circumstance can take them away.
Keep your focus not on the tangibles but on our Lord. When all seems lost, when all is going well, when something changes your life in an instant, remember that the unchanging love of God will always carry you through. If you can hold on to that, nothing can truly harm you. Nothing.
James
Rev. James A. Williams
Senior Pastor
Grace Resurrection Methodist Church
Posted in Rev. James Williams Weekly Blog
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