Addy came by the house late one afternoon and took a look at a cabinet I was finishing up.  As she sat in her mother’s car and gazed at what I had built she voiced her assessment of my work:  “The knobs are not even!”  It is absolutely amazing how observant a six year old can be.  But the difficult truth is her evaluation was correct.

Last Sunday before church started Madeline was with Gale and me in one of the classrooms.  As she looked at us standing beside each other she observed something that she had not noticed before that apparently caught her by surprise and produced in her an important question:  “Nana is taller than Papa?” 

Some things in life we can change, others we have no control over.  I was able to straighten out those uneven knobs that stood out to the sharp eyes of Addy.  Even though the imperfection was a small one, if a six year old could pick it out from a distance it deserved some adjustment, so I took care of it.  But Madeline’s observation is beyond my ability to change; I am quite efficient at getting bigger around the waist, but getting taller ceased for me decades ago.

Things that need to be changed that we have the ability to change, we should.  But when we face those things that we have no power to do anything about we have to leave them up to God.  When we realize our limitations, it helps us focus on the supreme power and authority of God.  2 Corinthians 12:9 gives us these words of God as He addressed the apostle Paul during a time in his life when he could not change what he was struggling with:  “But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (New International Version). 

When I used to hear older people remarking that time passes faster now than it did in days gone by, I hardly believed what they were saying.  Now, after a few decades, I can appreciate what they were saying.  As we now find ourselves experiencing another year rapidly racing toward its end and as we enter into the holiday season–with Christmas just a few short weeks away–we have to once again consciously remind ourselves not to lose sight of the real reason that we celebrate.  We do so because God sent Christ to the earth to change something we could never change ourselves—our standing with God.  Concerning the coming to earth of Christ and the provision that He brought that would change the hearts of those who trusted Him, Matthew 4:16 states:  “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

As the pressure of the season starts to intensify, go ahead and establish your determination that you will not allow this season of celebration and observance to become filled with so many activities that you forget the real meaning of it all.  Remember that Christ came to bring change—change of hearts, change of direction, change of values. 

We cannot make those changes in our own strength, but as we surrender to Him He will bring about the changes that we need.