Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. —Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)
“May I help, Mom?” ten-year-old Isaiah asks. “You bet,” I say. I hand him the rolling pin. We’re making our traditional homemade ice cream for New Year’s Day. The last of the Christmas candy canes, crushed to bits, will go on top.
Isaiah rolls the pin over the candy, hands small and strong. For a moment, I see my grandmother’s hands, well-worn from loving well, curled over that same pin, rolling homemade noodles or crust for pecan pie.
It’s the essence of New Year’s Day—heart-holding what was dear but forging toward what will be.
Change is at the center of life.
I don’t have to look far to witness it. My family is jumbled close over game boards and books, another tradition, but we’re in a different home. A fire still crackles and snaps, but the hearth isn’t the same. My bevy of boys still stretch over the sofa and chairs and they sprawl, lanky-legged, over the rug. But they are bigger. Shoulders broader. Voices deeper. It’s a growing time. For them. For their daddy and me.
New plans. New goals. New territory. Fresh, bright squares on a crisp, calendar page.
My gut is to resist. To grapple life. To grip it with both hands. To tether time. Sameness brings security, and I long for that.
Isaiah’s chatter is as steady as the clackety-clack of the pin. The boys razz one another and laughter booms. Music from the 1940s comes from vinyl. But even in the bustle, I hear my soul whisper, from that deep place where all I know about the Lord lives. Where truth is stored like Old Testament grain.
He is the security I need. He is concrete. He is constant.
And as we move into a new year, this praise becomes my offering.
Lord, I can find solace in change because You are steadfast!
Digging Deeper: Psalm 90:2; Malachi 3:6
Excerpted from Daily Guideposts 2021.
