The Next Chapter

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. — Jeremiah 29:11

Change. It’s not a word we humans are comfortable with. But as John F. Kennedy once stated, “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

Laws of nature. My dictionary defines them as regularly occurring or apparently inevitable phenomenons observable in human society.

If you believe that that definition is true then I assume you also believe that these laws can’t be broken. If you think they can, just walk off the roof of your house. You’ll clearly witness the law of gravity at work no matter if you’re a Christian or an atheist.

Now before you get all metaphysical on me, let me clarify that, as CS Lewis once noted, the laws of nature do not define an outcome, but a process. In other words, they don’t tell you what must happen but simply what will happen in the natural course of events.

For example, if I lift a book over my head, then let it go, the law of gravity will most certainly cause it to fall to the ground unless I reach out and catch it. Therefore, the process is true; however, the outcome can be changed.

And that’s exactly what JFK was alluding to — the process of change not the outcome. In other words, if you stay stuck in either the past or present you’ll miss the future because things change.

Tina’s passing confirms this.

Life as my kids and I knew it will never be the same.

So what do we do?

We press in.

More specifically, we press in to God!

We wait, we listen, then we obey. None of it comes easy but it’s the right thing to do in the midst of grief.

As a matter of fact, Isaiah 61 tells me that Jesus came to comfort all who mourn and to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

The latter part of Psalm 30:5 states, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

Lamentations 3:21-23 proclaims, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

And I can attest to this!

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. GREAT is HIS faithfulness!!

No matter what life throws your way, He is faithful!

Even when life knocks you down and causes disillusionment, He is faithful!!

Even if your disillusionment skews your perception of life to the point of utter meaninglessness, He is faithful!!!

Remember, it was King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, who penned ‘everything is meaningless’ in the opening chapter of Ecclesiastes.

But if that statement were true, then it was stated in full meaningfulness. Therefore, if it’s meaningful then everything isn’t meaningless. So the statement refutes itself and points right back to God.

HE IS FAITHFUL!!!!

And because of His faithfulness, I boldly embrace the next chapter of life. This is what Tina would’ve wanted and this is what the Lord has called me to do.

As a matter of fact, Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)

So I press forward to what lies ahead.

Do I have a plan for the next chapter?

Yes I do, but ultimately it’s up to the Lord.

Proverbs 16:9 tells me, “A man’s mind plans his way [as he journeys through life], but the Lord directs his steps and establishes them.”

One thing I’ve learned is that He never shows us more than the next step. This can be frustrating at times but I believe it’s for our own benefit.

I truly believe if He illuminated the entire path, we’d get arrogant, make the path fit our selfish ambitions and screw everything up. That’s just how man rolls.

I’m also learning not to be so focused on what God has taken from me that I can’t see or believe what God wants to do through me.

So in order to move forward, I’ll simply take the next step by faith while putting my trust in Him for course correction when needed.

So, what is my plan?

To find out, you’ll need to fill out the form below.

Why?

Because I don’t want to intermingle our previous chapter with the next. This site is devoted to Tina and needs to remain true to its purpose.

Furthermore, there are many of you that visit this site that I simply don’t know. You had a relationship with Tina but not necessarily with me. I’d like to change that. If Tina called you ‘friend’ then I’d like to be able to do the same.

So if you feel led, fill out the form and I’ll be in touch.

God bless,

Patrick

P.S. Don’t miss my next update! I’ve got a special announcement that you simply don’t want to miss. Love and appreciate each one of you!