Different

Different

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

UNCLE JIM AND AUNT TINA didn’t always have it easy, but they loved one another deeply. They both loved to dance, and it was something they did together, even when things were hard. They danced in the kitchen, at the local watering hole, outside under the stars—it didn’t matter where they danced, it mattered only that they still danced.

And then Jim got sick. It was a rare condition, one that slowly stole his ability to move even as his mind remained alert and aware until his death several years ago. Aunt Tina showed me a picture of her and Jim on the dance floor, him in a wheelchair, her arms wrapped around him from behind, swaying them both to the music. “We never stopped dancing. We just danced different after he got sick.”

We just danced different. Her words have stayed with me. As our circumstances change, as the path we thought we were on suddenly veers to the left, we are faced with different—different choices than the ones we thought we had, different circumstances than we planned, different outcomes than we’d expected. What do we do when we are faced with different? Especially when that different is incredibly hard? How do we find a new way forward?

We stand firm on the bedrock, foundational truth of our faith: Jesus Christ is the same from everlasting to everlasting, unchanging, unshifting, certain. He is the firm foundation our faith must be built upon or it will crumble and fall when the storms of life rage. He is present in the different, and he provides us a safe shelter when what we face feels like it is more than we can handle. When we have a firm faith foundation, we can still dance, still do the things we love, even if they look different than before.

Lord, help us to build a deep and abiding faith foundation on your truth, that we will find ourselves firmly rooted, even when life is far different than what we’d expected. Amen.

-Julie

One Good Step: How are you continuing to build your faith foundation? Invest time weekly in strengthening your foundation, that you may stand firm on its truth, always.