"The more things change, the more they stay the same"

"The more things change, the more they stay the same." This quote was first written by French critic, journalist and novelist Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr in 1839 in one of his satirical epigrams. Little did he know how many times this same quote would be uttered in everyday life. According to wiktionary.com the translation of this phrase has two definitions; 1. Turbulent changes do not affect reality on a deeper level other than to cement the status quo. 2. A change of heart must accompany experience before lasting change occurs. Either way something is going to change. Maybe it is a change in your daily living habits. Maybe it is a change in your geographic location. Maybe it is a change in your marital status. Maybe it is a change in your family status. Maybe it is a change so turbulent that it has shaken you to your very core. Change is something that we try so hard to either make happen, prevent or stop from happening that we tend to focus on the act of change instead of the change itself. As much as I want to be in control of my life, I realize that I am not. As much as I want to control the lives of my family so that they can live without fear, pain, sorrow or tragedy I again realize that I cannot. So, what do I do when things around me seem to be changing without my consent? This pandemic has changed so many things for myself and others that it can be hard to cling to the "stay the same" part of that quote. Here is what I know; God is still the same today as He was yesterday and as He will be tomorrow and for all eternity. Christmas is still happening because God chose to give us his son Jesus Christ as an eternal gift no matter what happens here on this earth. Jesus came to us as a baby and he left us as a man; such is the life of many of us-we live and we die. In Chirst's death however he chose to offer himself to us so that as we live and die here on this earth that doesn't have to be the end. We can continue to live forever with him. In Ecclesiates 1:9-11 it says; "All things continue the way they have been since the beginning. What has happened will happen again; there is nothing new here on earth. Someone might say, "Look, this is new," but really it has always been here. It was here before we were. People don't remember what happened long ago, and in the future people will not remember what happens now. Even later, other people will not remember what was done before them." Yes, I realize that people are not going to soon forget what is going on around them in the world today. But life will still "continue the way it has been since the beginning." Christmas is still coming. Jesus' birth will still be celebrated. In the midst of the chaos of this world the peace of Christ is still among us. It is a choice you have to make. Will you let the sorrow of the world take the place of your joy? Things cannot change, whether it is a good change or bad change, if we don't allow God to work in our lives. Some or you are going through changes that are anything but good right now. I don't understand why certain events play out the way they do or why one person is taken from this earth and another one gets to stay, but I do know that how we get through these changes is how God is revealing to us a greater plan, a greater purpose and a greater life beyond the one we have in this world. Since Ecclesiates is in the Old Testament the verse that says, "there is nothing new here on this earth" was written before the birth of Christ. Because Jesus brought the "something new" to the fallen world of the past and to the fallen world of today. Jesus Christ is the newness of this world. He gives NEW life. He brings NEW hope. He is NEW every morning. Things are changing, we can't stop it. Life is happening, we can't stop it. Disease and death happen, we can't stop it. These are the things that will change, but Jesus and the celebration of His coming and His gift of eternal life to everyone who believes in him will always remain the same.