When I was little, there was a hymn we sang in church that perplexed me—not the lyrics, but the reaction they evoked. Halfway through the first verse, I would often see women getting out their tissues while old men hunched over and began to wipe their eyes. I didn’t understand why these words seemed to cause people so much pain.
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
People folded their hands in prayer, tears ran down their cheeks, and arms shot upward as if reaching out for a hug. The posture of worship I witnessed during that hymn gave me pause. What did it all mean? How could I understand as a little girl what it meant to live a life up-ended, to have the rug pulled out from under me, to feel the rush of change descending like a crashing wave? How could I know that the tears and outstretched arms in the pew, just years later, would be my own?
Change can come in many forms: a broken home, illness, a move, job loss, a new family member, a death. These are just a few changes that can rock the boat. Once safe in a familiar harbor, we find ourselves in open water, disoriented, frantic, and desperate to get back to shore. Though some changes are welcome, even planned and pursued like a promotion or an improvement in healthy lifestyle choices, unexpected changes have the capacity to knock us off our feet.
As cross-cultural workers, we expect change. We expect growing pains, discomfort, and the unpredictability that the overseas life holds for us. We go into it aware of things going wrong: the water heater bursting, the potential for a team to fall apart, for a leader to step down, for the neighbor to move, for the language teacher to quit, for your best student to drop out, for your grocery store to turn into a tool shop overnight, for your visa to get denied, and the list goes on.
We prepare for it, we live it, we deal with it. Change is inevitable, so why do we bristle and buckle under its weight? What I have come to understand is this: I can resent the circumstances and changes happening in my life, or I can cling to a faithful God, the One Who Never Changes.
A few years ago during a sabbatical, a friend and I took a whole day to map changes in our life. Armed with a folder, papers, colored pens, and sticky notes, we headed into the woods. We sat down under the shade of a sequoia tree and started writing down all the perceived positive and negative changes we experienced from birth to the present time.
Though sitting apart, every once in a while, we could hear each other sniffle, giggle, or sigh. Even though we served in different countries over the years, our lives had intersected at different times so we were uniquely aware of each other’s struggles and stormy moments. At one point, I broke down. The change was still close. Our time in our host country—the place we had lived for ten years—had come to an end. I didn’t want to accept it. I heard my friend say, “Just write it down and move to the next thing.”
When we finished the activity, I looked at the color-coded map of my life and first reflected on the changes that brought me joy: the birth of my children, the friendships made, the ministry “successes.” I became aware of a smile on my face, my relaxed shoulders and jaw, and the feeling of peaceful waters. Next, my friend and I tackled the hard changes, the ones that almost killed us mentally, or even physically. As we moved from Post-it note to Post-it note, we could clearly see God’s faithfulness, provision, and unchanging compassion during the most challenging times in our lives. On our knees and in tears, we ended our time in prayer and then sang Great is Thy Faithfulness. My favorite line—there is no shadow of turning with Thee.
That was eight years ago. I still have that map in a drawer and pull it out every once in a while to remind myself of God’s faithfulness through all the years. And in that eight years, I have moved five more times and lived in three different states and one other country. Our family has experienced job loss, team loss, church loss, and some family loss. We have found ourselves strangers and newbies all over again. Our only constant? Change and our faithful God.
If I have learned anything in my life, it’s to embrace the highs and lows, clinging to the promise that God is with me, will never leave me, and will always provide for me in unexpected and incredible ways. Even if that way is subtle, simplistic, or what I may think is “barely enough,” I know that giving way to the immovable love of God will carry me through even the most difficult, heart-wrenching moments of change in my life.
Though seasons of consistency and peaceful waters are a blessing, we should always ask ourselves: What and to Whom am I anchored? When a storm of change comes and all the “knowns” in life slip beneath the surface, where do I put my trust? Do I find myself tethered to a project, a person, or an entity? Or have I secured myself to the anchor of an unchanging God whose guiding presence is constant and immovable? We don’t have to love change, we just need to love the One who provides the strength and the hope we need to get through it all.
Sing with me:
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!*
My friends, to whom or what are you tethered? When the currents shift and the tides turn, where do you put your trust? Consider James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (ESV).
The reality of change for an overseas worker can be a tough pill to swallow or a welcome, cool drink of water. No doubt your list of life changes is long, like mine. Take some time to jot down changes that are weighing on you, then spend some time reflecting on God’s faithfulness and promises in scripture.
Find more about mapping change here or here.
*Great Is Thy Faithfulness (TBH)
WORDS: Thomas O. Chisolm, 1923
MUSIC: William M. Runyan, 1923
