Written by Kurt Wallace | Middays on Hope Radio
One day, it’s still hot enough that you’re reaching for the air conditioner and wondering if summer is ever going to let go.
And then all of a sudden, you walk outside in the morning and there’s a little chill in the air.
You grab a sweatshirt.
The kids are back in school.
The leaves are starting to change.
Football is on.
Pumpkin stuff starts showing up everywhere.
And you’re thinking, “Wait a minute… where did summer go?”
That’s what seasons do.
They change.
And whether we like it or not, life does the same thing.
Kids grow up. And sometimes it seems like they do it overnight.
One day you’re packing their lunch and tying their shoes, and the next thing you know, they’re driving themselves somewhere.
Jobs change.
Families change.
Friendships change.
Parents get older.
Grandkids come along.
Sometimes you move to a new house or start a new job. Sometimes you find yourself with an empty nest. Sometimes you’re starting over after something you never expected.
And sometimes you don’t choose the change at all.
It just shows up.
And that’s usually the hardest kind.
You can handle change a little better when you saw it coming. When you had time to prepare. When you got to make the decision.
But what about the changes you didn’t ask for?
The phone call you didn’t expect.
The door that closed.
The diagnosis.
The relationship that changed.
The child who’s grown up and doesn’t need you in quite the same way anymore.
The new chapter you’re standing in and thinking, “Okay, God… what do I do now?”
Here’s what I love about God:
He isn’t surprised by any of it.
None of this caught Him off guard.
He knew about this season before you ever got here.
He knows what’s ahead, even when you don’t.
And I think sometimes we put so much pressure on ourselves to figure everything out.
What’s next?
How is this going to work?
What am I supposed to do?
Am I going to be okay?
And maybe today, you don’t have to answer all those questions.
Maybe you just need to take a breath.
Look around.
Take the next step.
Because you may not know exactly what’s ahead, but you don’t have to walk into it alone.
God is already there.
He’s already in that next chapter.
He’s already in the conversation you’re nervous about having.
He’s already in the place you’re worried about going.
He’s already working in the things you can’t see yet.
In Isaiah 43 God says, “I am doing a new thing.”
I love that.
Because sometimes a new thing is exactly what we need.
And sometimes we don’t realize that until we’re a little farther down the road.
So as summer gives way to fall, maybe let it remind you of something.
Seasons change. Life changes. But God doesn’t.
You don’t have to know everything that’s coming.
You just have to trust the One who does.
Whatever this next season looks like for you, God is already there ahead of you.
And you can take that next step with hope.
