A Letter from Lo
I have to say this has been one amazing summer. And although the heat doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon, I can definitely feel that this season is coming to a close. Maybe it’s all the classroom supplies that are starting to fill the aisles of every store, or the ever-present back to school promotions on the TV. Maybe it’s the anticipation of football season that seems to be hovering over all of Texas. Maybe it’s the depleting bank account and the filling calendar that suggest that the next vacation won’t be happening for quite some time. Surely the signs are coming from all around, but they all appear to be pointing to the same conclusion. Something special is coming to an end.
This is not just an occurrence but a promise. A promise that God has given to us as a hope and an assurance. In Genesis 8:22, God says, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease.” God’s promise to humanity, after experiencing what appeared to be the ending of the world, is that He will never end a story without picking up the pen to begin another. That a season will only conclude when another one is ready to begin.
Three months ago my wife and I packed up our lives and moved to join this community. There was a lot of excitement and positive expectations about what God was planning on doing in this season of our lives. However, I’d be lying if I said that there wasn’t any anxiety. Or sadness about leaving friends and family in our community. We felt very much then what we are feeling now. That something special was ending. But as it goes with seasons, when something special ends, something new and special in an entirely different way begins. We have found home and warmth and so much love here in this community. A new season has begun for us, and God is up to something special in it.
It is important for us to receive God’s gift of season and to be mindful to appreciate what is given in the moment. We also want to be willing to let go and trust the Giver, even when the time of gifting has come to an end. It is also important for us to realize this in difficult times, so as to hold on to the hope that God has promised a changing of seasons, and trust His plan and intentions for our lives (Galatians 6:9).
As things begin to change in our lives, our community, and our world, may we seek that hand that changes the seasons. May we learn to trust Him. May our hope be in the nature of our God, and in His ways and in His promise. Something special is coming to an end. And I believe that there is something special that our God is about to begin.
Blessings,
Lo Alaman