The Upper Room Daily Devotional from The United Methodist Church of Nashville, Tennessee, United States for Tuesday, 14 November 2017 "God of our Seasons" by Joan Campbell (Gauteng, South Africa) - Psalm 1:1-6
-------
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2017
There is a time for everything . . . a time
to plant and a time to uproot. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (NIV))
In a week’s time my daughter goes to college. It will be a big transition, moving away from home and leaving a sheltered Christian family life. My husband and I are also struggling, worrying about her safety and her ability to live independently, keep up with her studies, and meet good friends. As I prayed about it, I came across Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, God’s reminder to me that this is a time of uprooting and planting. Just as we might take a seedling out of its small tray and plant it in a garden, so our daughter is being uprooted to be planted in different soil. Initially a young plant may wilt a little in this replanting process, but ultimately its roots are able to spread, helping it grow taller and stronger. This is my hope for my daughter.
All of us will face difficult transitions. But I find it encouraging that God guides us through every season of our life, just as God controls the times and rhythms of nature. We do not need to be afraid when one season of life comes to an end and another starts. If we look back, we can see that God’s presence has been our comfort all along. As we look forward, we can trust that God will be with us wherever we go.
In a week’s time my daughter goes to college. It will be a big transition, moving away from home and leaving a sheltered Christian family life. My husband and I are also struggling, worrying about her safety and her ability to live independently, keep up with her studies, and meet good friends. As I prayed about it, I came across Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, God’s reminder to me that this is a time of uprooting and planting. Just as we might take a seedling out of its small tray and plant it in a garden, so our daughter is being uprooted to be planted in different soil. Initially a young plant may wilt a little in this replanting process, but ultimately its roots are able to spread, helping it grow taller and stronger. This is my hope for my daughter.
All of us will face difficult transitions. But I find it encouraging that God guides us through every season of our life, just as God controls the times and rhythms of nature. We do not need to be afraid when one season of life comes to an end and another starts. If we look back, we can see that God’s presence has been our comfort all along. As we look forward, we can trust that God will be with us wherever we go.
TODAY'S PRAYER:
* * *
Psalm 1:1 How blessed are those
who reject the advice of the wicked,
don’t stand on the way of sinners
or sit where scoffers sit!
2 Their delight
is in Adonai’s Torah;
on his Torah they meditate
day and night.
3 They are like trees planted by streams —
they bear their fruit in season,
their leaves never wither,
everything they do succeeds.
4 Not so the wicked,
who are like chaff driven by the wind.
5 For this reason the wicked
won’t stand up to the judgment,
nor will sinners
at the gathering of the righteous.
6 For Adonai watches over
the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked
is doomed.
---
With God’s help I will embrace each new season of my life.
First-year college students
READ MORE:
- Expected and Unexpected Seasons
Expected and Unexpected Seasons BY JOAN CAMPBELL (GAUTENG, SOUTH AFRICA)
It’s been almost two years since I wrote the devotional published today in The Upper Room. My daughter Nicole has nearly completed her second year of Occupational Therapy studies. She has adapted to life in residence, has a supportive group of friends and has risen to the challenge of tertiary education—the very things I prayed for as she set out on this journey.
Joan with her daughter Nicole
It hasn’t always been easy. Her degree has a great deal of practical work, where the students go to old-age homes, rehab facilities, hospitals, and psychiatric wards to assess patients and do treatments. Nicole is pushed out of her comfort zone over and over again. I see beautiful growth taking place in her life through the challenges. She is blossoming in confidence and compassion and is indeed—as I wrote in the devotional—growing ‘taller and stronger’. I realise now that a child leaving home is a season which one foresees and for which one prepares. Long before we moved Nicole into her res. room, we had visited the university, read about the degree and started to prepare our minds for the changes ahead.
Yet, other seasons are unexpected. They sweep into our lives like a wave knocking us off our feet. That’s the feeling I had earlier this year when my father was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer. Nothing prepared me for the shock of that diagnosis, for the grief and fear that gripped me following it.
As an author, much of my processing happens through writing. Flannery O’Conner said, “I write to discover what I know,” and that’s very true for me. Following Dad’s diagnosis, my journal overflowed with my jumbled thoughts, feelings and observations.
Such wrestling—and the spiritual insights gained—inevitably finds its way into my other writing too: blogs, devotionals, even my fiction. This written intersection of my struggles and faith has become a place of ministry for me, perhaps because it gives a ‘voice’ to what others grapple with too.
What I’m learning anew in this season, thrust so unexpectedly on my family, is to keep my eyes on God and trust that He is at work. “The secret to peace with God is to discover, accept, and appreciate God’s perfect timing. The danger is to doubt or resent God’s timing.” (Eccl. 3:1-8 footnote, NLT Life Application Bible).
I’m not sure what season you are in right now, whether it’s a season you had time to prepare for or one that unexpectedly swept into your life, leaving you feeling bereft and adrift. But know this - you are not alone. Take comfort from the promise of our ever faithful God: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deut. 31:6)
Joan Campbell has been married for 25 years and has two daughters.
Her book Encounters: Life Changing Moments with Jesus takes readers onto the dusty streets of Ancient Israel, to experience Gospel moments from the perspective of those whose lives Jesus touched. Each short story ends with a refection, prayer and scripture verses.
While reading C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, Joan was struck by the power of story to impart spiritual truth. She began to write her own Chronicles then—The Poison Tree Path Chronicles—a Christian fantasy trilogy where characters journey from deception and captivity to truth and freedom.
Free eBook of Joan’s short stories (on subscription to her newsletter).
Amazon Sale on Joan’s Kindle books (ends 15 November)
The Upper Room®
Copyright © The Upper Room 2017, All rights reserved.
Header Photo Credit: "Harvested Land," Beth Shumate. August 15, 2014. (link)
-------
No comments:
Post a Comment