The Writing on the Wall

With age comes all kinds of changes. Body parts trade places. Skin just gives up. Things just aren’t as clear and in focus as they used to be. I find myself wondering, “Did I dream that or did it really happen?”

One thing, however, that has become clearer and has come into focus, is the writing on the wall. The reality that after all this time, some people and some situations aren’t going to change. We can pray that they do, but in the meantime, we can’t let them come between us and the full life God wants for us.

I wish I had seen the writing on the wall a lot sooner than I did. I lived most of my life feeling very sure that anybody and anything can evolve and change over time. Often, I felt I could be the one to facilitate that change. Mainly because then the change would be to my benefit. It took me a long time to realize that’s not how it works. I am not in control. My job is not to facilitate change, I need to leave that up to God. My job is to learn to forgive and accept the reality of people and situations. Then through that lens of forgiveness and acceptance, make a decision how to take care of myself and live the life God intends for me to live.

The only way to move forward is to find the courage and the strength to forgive, accept, and move on. God calls us to different ways of “moving on.” Sometimes, it literally means leaving the situation or relationship. Other times it might mean moving on emotionally and spiritually, not physically. Staying put in the job, in the marriage, in the relationship, but leaning on the promise of God’s presence and care. A deep and complete surrendering.

Either way, it takes a lot of courage, strength, and perseverance. More than we can muster on our own.

The writing on the wall that comes into focus as we age can be startling and discouraging, but alongside it comes a love letter written on that same wall from God, promising to be there to see us through our own evolution and change as we come to grips with the reality of life.

Now if He could just do something about my neck!

Joan