What's Next?

Oil Painting by Susan Martin Spar

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Matthew 6:26-27

When I was first pregnant, I spent several months preparing for the Big Day of childbirth that would change me forever. I bought books, attended classes, and listened raptly as the older, wiser moms around me shared their childbirth experiences. Finally, the Big Day came. And went.

As the Morning After that highly anticipated childbirth experience dawned, another realization dawned upon me that I had just spent the better part of a year preparing for one day . . . and not much time preparing for what was next. I was totally unprepared to be a parent, and here came the nurse with a Screaming Pink Thing that I was supposed to care for! I began to worry.

Whether it's the kids learning to walk, talk or read; my husband considering a job change; or me settling into yet another new hometown, I am just never quite ready to say goodbye to the old and reach forward for the new. And each time, I spend valuable energy worrying about how I am going to deal with what's next.

Actually, I don't think we can ever be totally prepared for what's next. Change is a natural part of life, as evidenced by the fact that we start out as children, progress through adolescence, and become independent adults. But we can be grounded in such a way that whatever comes, we are not thrown off balance. When we let go of our worries for the future, and just concentrate on loving Jesus, he promises to care for our needs.

What's next for you? Are you reaching eagerly for it, or hanging back in the hope that you can delay it from coming just a little longer? Either way, you can rest in the confidence that Jesus is going there with you, and he will provide what you need to make the move.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." Matthew 6:33-34