Life Changes But God Does Not

 "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven."

~Ecclesiastes 3:1

Last week, I attended my 40th high school reunion. It started on Friday night when we all met at our high school for a football game.  The next morning, we toured the high school.  That evening there was a nice dinner.  As we were exploring our old high school, I was struck by how much some things had changed, and how little other things had. We all noted that every seemed much smaller than we remembered them. 

I was struck with just how much each of us had changed.  Some of us had experienced serious health issues already.  Some faces I barely recognized, weathered by four decades of life's joys and sorrows. Most I recognized right away. 

But what hit me hardest was the memorial table—photographs of classmates who had passed away.  We've lost twelve out of our class of 88.  Cancer, accidents, heart attacks—life had taken its toll. I think one of the most difficult things I've done so far as a pastor was giving that prayer before our meal where I also mentioned those classmates that had gone home.  I struggled to get through that list of names, because I didn't see names on a page, what I saw were the faces of my old friends.  

I realized last weekend, that we had all traveled through seasons none of us could have imagined when we walked across that graduation stage forty years ago. The carefree teenagers we once were had been shaped by marriage, parenthood, career changes, health challenges, and loss.

So many seasons we'd received that high school diploma.  

There was the season of young adulthood—full of dreams and possibilities. Then came the season of building—careers, families, homes. Many experienced the season of struggle—financial hardship, relationship difficulties, health scares. Some entered the season of loss—losing parents, spouses, even children. And now, many of us are in the season of reflection—looking back on what matters most.  Each season brought its own challenges, its own joys, and its own lessons. 

I know many of my classmates aren't believers, and I spent a great deal of time looking back at my own life, wondering how I would have gotten through those difficult seasons in my life without God.  I can't even imagine going that alone.  As I have grown and changed through these seasons, my relationship with God has evolved too. The faith of my youth has been tested, refined, and deepened through each chapter of my life.  It's a tremendous gift, and it is why I became a pastor.  So I can share and spread that gift to others.

Our school days eventually come to an end, but God never stops teaching us. He doesn't stop teaching us when we graduate from high school, or college, or even seminary. In every season of life, He has new lessons to share, new aspects of His character to reveal, new depths of His love to explore.  

It's never too late to accept the gift.  It's free.

~Pastor Todd Creason