Devotionals for the Heart: Seasons

Loving Well in Changing Seasons
A devotional by Jessica Brodie

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end.”

—Lamentations 3:22 (NRSV)

Have you ever experienced a love that changes?

When I was a kid, I remember being struck by how my grandmother would take care of my mom sometimes, even though my mom was a grown woman and had kids of her own.

Now, this wasn’t the same kind of caregiving my mom did for me. After all, I was a child and couldn’t cook for myself or keep house, but it was visible in the little things—the way my Gram made sure my mom had gotten herself something to drink when she came over for dinner, or the way she made her sit down because she could tell my mom was stressed out.

Gram was a natural caregiver—she took in her own mom, my great-grandma, whom we called Bubba (honest truth!), until Bubba passed away. She took in my great-aunt Ethel until Aunt Ethel passed. She took in my cousin and her young son for a while, and she faithfully cared for my grandpa until he, too, passed on.

Then Gram was suddenly alone.

Somehow, my mom convinced Gram to sell the house she’d lived in since 1952 and move three states away to live in a mother-in-law suite at my mom’s house. That’s when things really began to change. Slowly Gram, always one of the smartest women I’ve ever known, began to slip mentally. She’d forget things, and eventually the decline quickened. Eventually my grandma was the one in the hospital bed, family gathered all around her, showing her love and saying their goodbyes.

Gram went from caregiver to being cared for herself.

I’m not there yet with my mom, who is active and vibrant and still very youthful, but I know things will one day change. Just like my mom once washed me and dressed me as a little girl, one day I’ll be doing the same thing for her. And my daughter will do the same for me.

One of the most profound things about love and the expression of love is the way that it changes. It is not stagnant but fluid, evolving to serve and grow in new and sometimes unexpected ways. The love itself does not change, but it appears to change, and the way it is expressed can change.

It reminds me a bit of the love God has for us, his people. God’s love is timeless.

We cannot box it in or even begin to define it, let alone comprehend its fullness. But we sometimes see it reflected in different ways depending on the stage of life we are in. Sometimes it feels like a close, personal love, a love that walks with you in every step. Other times it’s a tougher love. The kind of love that tests us to help us understand the big picture. God did not love Abraham any less when he asked him to sacrifice his son, Isaac (Genesis 22:1-18).

It likely broke Abraham’s heart to have to do what he did, take his son and lead him off to a presumed sacrifice. And God did not love Isaac any less either. God did what was hard to help Abraham understand a necessary fact—no matter how much love we have for our self or our children, nothing must be stronger than the love we have for our Heavenly Father. Nothing can stand in the way. That’s a hard lesson to learn, but God taught it in love and for a higher purpose. (And thankfully, Abraham passed the “test” and didn’t have to sacrifice Isaac after all.)

Throughout the Bible God is known by many names. He’s the same God—God Almighty, the Great I Am—but he has other special names that don’t detract or diminish his greatness or other names. These other names often express the type of love a person might be experiencing at that moment.

For example, God is known also as:

· Yahweh (Lord)

· Adonai (Master)

· Elohim (Creator)

· Abba (Father/Daddy)

· El Roi (The God who sees me)

· Jehovah Jireh (The Lord will provide)

· Jehovah Rapha (The God who heals)

· Jehovah Nissi (God as banner or protector)

· Jehovah Shalom (God of peace)

Right now, the name that is most appealing to me for God is El Roi, the God who sees me. It’s been a really hard season in my life, and while things are getting back on track, I’m often exhausted mentally and physically. But I know that God sees me right now, in the space I’m in. He understands, and he walks with me.

I love Lamentations 3:22, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end” (NRSV). The way we experience God’s love might change over the years and even over the course of a month, a week (or in my roller-coaster life, a day!). But God’s love is always the same perfect, inexplicable, steadfast gift.

As God’s people, our experience might be different, but it’s the same love.

And it’s up to us, God’s people, to model that beautiful love in the relationships we have with others. In 1 John 4:19, we’re reminded that we love because God first loved us.

Today, I hope you will think about the way you love others. Sometimes roles change, life changes, and our feelings change, whether that’s in a parent-child relationship, a husband-wife relationship, or a friendship. But that agape love remains.

Hold onto that truth, my friends. Just love.

Let’s Pray: Lord, Abba, El Roi, please help me to love people in my life well, whether I’m in a “good” period in life or not. Help my love to expand along with changing life situations and accept those changes with grace, peace, and compassion. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

*Note from Alexis: Jessica's devotional message today reminds me of the song "Seasons Change" by Crystal Lewis. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Jessica Brodie is an award-winning Christian novelist, journalist, editor, blogger, and writing coach and the recipient of the 2018 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Award for her novel, The Memory Garden. 

 

She is also the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism.

Learn more about her fiction and read her faith blog at http://jessicabrodie.com.

She has a weekly YouTube devotional and podcast. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and more. She’s also produced a free eBook, A God-Centered Life: 10 Faith-Based Practices When You’re Feeling Anxious, Grumpy, or Stressed.