Well, what a year it has been – here we are getting older all the time, and as we progress through the years ahead, I just praise God that He is with us regardless of what is happening in our world, especially the world around us.

When we listen to the News and hear of the awful things that are happening in our broken world, it is pretty staggering, and then of course, there are our personal lives – we all have our different problems in life, and many need to make adjustments.

I had really no idea that I would have to go back to work – All was well and then suddenly all changed when a life-threatening illness bounded into our family and knocked us sideways.

There is always change!

Change for us can be an absolute shock in so many ways.

Have you found a change in your life? Has it been a good change or a bad change?

You know, change can be tough, but it is healthy in a way, and it becomes a necessary part of life.

Sometimes we have to move on even when we don’t want to – it just means we have to use the word “GO”. 

We can’t just stand around asking, “What am I supposed to do?”  Let’s not waste time looking for the right moment to act, and really let’s not wait for other people to open all the doors for us.

Let’s not let our lack of motivation slow us down  – let’s just GO!

You know the only person who can really stop you from achieving what you need to achieve, especially under unforeseen circumstances that affect your life in hundreds of ways, is…….YOU

Acknowledging change and what is happening in your life – even when it can be extremely painful – is the very first step towards moving forward.

When bad things happen, we can sit around wringing our hands and sighing – does it help? NO, definitely not – believe me.

Sue and I have been in that situation quite a few times, and even now we find ourselves once more facing such a hard time. We have to accept the things we can’t change – jump out of our lethargy and build up resilience even when our hearts can be breaking and we really do NOT want to embrace change.

During really tough times of change, reaching out to trusted friends, even maybe family (if you have any), or professional people for support, is a great way to help you cope, far far better than letting the emotional side of your trauma take control of your life.

Tough times in life can bring about potential anxiety, especially when there is no way to avoid distress and huge sorrows, or even misfortune and very unpleasant situations. Resilience and trust in our living Lord give us huge abilities to cope with life’s traumas.

Maybe focusing on what we can control (as we know lots of things are out of our control) and also maybe not being so hard on ourselves in the process can help us to maintain a positive outlook on the problems we face in trials.

At problematic times, it is so good to have strategies in place to help us cope. These strategies, including focusing on our Spiritual journey in life can make a huge difference in having to rise up to all sorts of problems and anxieties.

Asking our Lord to help us cope with hardship and turbulence gives us the strength to come bounding back from life’s tragedies.

Life throws us all sorts of curveballs, and we find it hard to dodge them, but God is there for us. He calls you and me to trust His word, adjust our lives accordingly, and maybe reform our ways.

Do you trust God? Do you believe in Him? He wants you to come to Him regardless of how you may feel or what you may be going through.

I personally am probably one of the worst people to slip up in my walk with God, but do you know – God loves me, truly He does and is always there for me even when I make huge mistakes. Every time we give in to temptation, whatever that temptation is, we do a ‘slip’ up in our walk with God. 

We all make mistakes, no matter how we live or what we do, which often seems to change our course in life.

That’s why prayers and repentance should be part of our daily schedule. 

SO…..By repenting, we can direct our course and come back to our God and Father.

We need desperately to come to our Lord Jesus – firstly, we need to confess our sins, whatever they may be. No sin, regardless of how big we feel they may be, is too big for God to forgive.

That is remarkable. Many people feel they can’t come to Jesus because of the many, many times they have sinned against Him. God will forgive ALL sins – there is no grading of sins in God’s eyes.

So whatever you have done, wherever you have been, or whoever you have been with. God is ready to forgive you if you come to Him in repentance.

God is there to help us cope with all the tough things that are going on in our lives – I know I trust Him and rely on his love to get me through.

God go with you this week – God bless