fall + change

It is definitely beginning to look like fall around here.

After this weekend it is finally feeling like fall outside...and around my house. 

We have been picking pumpkins out of our little pumpkin patch, 

putting on sweatshirts for a morning walk, 

watching football with daddy,

enjoying the wild sunflowers along the dirt roads, 

pulling out blankets for an afternoon nap, 

planting mums and putting pumpkins on the porch, 

and scattering pumpkins all around our house. 

{We have a lot of pumpkins.} 

I love fall. 

What a welcome change that is so needed and so refreshing.

And although I need change in my life, 

I am finding that change has become so hard for me. 

It never used to be. 

I grew up in a world that was full of change. 

My family moved every two or three years it seemed. 

And although it was sometimes hard, I was really okay with that.

Change never bothered me much.

And sometimes I even yearned for a little change in my life. 

But, ever since Cora died change has all of a sudden become hard. 

Change means moving forward without someone I love. 

And even though this is not our first fall without Cora, 

it means she is getting further and further away. 

It means that we are experiencing the fun of fall 

without a member of our family. 

Change also can mean closing the door 

on a place or time in life that Cora was a part of. 

It feels like you are having to let go of another piece of her. 

I want to resist change and hold on so tightly 

because it feels like that is all that I have left of my little girl. 

Change means I feel like I need to grieve again.

But, change is inevitable, right? 

Change is part of our everyday.

And if change means I am drawing closer to God

and becoming more like Him,

it can be SO good. 

I can kick and scream and feel sorry for myself, 

or I can embrace change as being 

part of God's loving plan for my life. 

As I was thinking about fall and changes that are happening around me 

I was reminded of how our God never changes. 

Isn't that a relief to you? 

It is to me. 

Seasons change, 

people change, 

our circumstances change, 

but there is one person we can rely on to never change...Jesus. 

His character and His deep love for us will never change or fade away. 

That is something that I can rest in today as we leap into the fall season.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Hebrews 13:8

* * * * * * * * * * *

How are you getting ready for fall around your house?

Do you resist change or welcome it?