Changes

There has been alot of weather in yorkshire this last few weeks, we’ve not been directly affected but it’s had a big impact on everyone in York. It’s also that time of year when we change from summer into autumn, and the nights start drawing in. I love autumn  because of the dramatic colours, the fact that it’s my birthday in October, and I was always a bit of a geek and enjoyed going back to school after the holidays.

We are all change as our son has started wearing pants at last! Some of this is painful, some just great. Last week it seemed unlikely to ever happen, and now he’s doing great with it. I think that sums up alot of the process of change in general. We watched a programme last night about the NHS and how it started out, and the thing that stuck with me was how quickly major changes can come in and transform everything. They were talking about Dr Lister, and how he played around for years in a lab with bacteria, and then suddenly antibiotics that stopped women dying in childbirth, and how this just revolutionised hospital care. Patients were likely to stay in for years or months, and then after new procedures became available people could come in and be back at work before too long.

As Christians when we pray for change, and ask for help we don’t always seem to get a response, and this can be frustrating to say the least! As one comic put it  “God always answers prayer. Sometimes it is “Yes” and sometimes “No.” Other times it’s “Wait a while.” And sometimes, “You’ve got to be kidding!”

My experience of change with God is that it can be dramatic but often it comes after a long period where not much looks like it’s going on. Like the flood-water, or autumn leaves it can be a seismic shift from summer to autumn when it happens, but it’s because of alot of things going on at the same time that we are not always aware of. 

My favourite bible reading is from Matthew and helps me think about what I need to do, and what I can just hand over to God for him to deal with:

Lets “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:33-34 NIV).