By Amy Duncan

I am sitting on my back porch drinking my Diet Dr Pepper with a hint of lime. I'm overlooking a beautiful forest and taking in the sounds of nature (and Brooke Fraser). This environment is the perfect setting for my "inspirational" side. My dad calls me "the contemplative one," and that is exactly what I am doing right now - thinking.

I am in a new environment due to a recent change of scenery in my life. I am taking it all in, pondering what the Lord has in store for me. As I pensively sit here and watch what is going on in the outdoors, nature is my muse. I am reminded that just as humans undergo change, so does God’s creation. He calls them seasons. I absolutely love it when an old season passes and a new one arrives. This is ironic, considering I grew up in Texas where there tends to be one season year round: hot! As much as I hate the heat of the summers, I do love those summer days by the pool with my Sonic happy hour, and those nights that stay light until 10:00 pm. I get excited when college football rolls around, signifying the start of autumn. The air turns brisk, changing the trees’ leaves into the beautiful fall colors of amber, orange, yellow, and red. I even love it when the leaves cover the ground, leaving the trees bare. This is a sign that the cold, dark winter is around the corner, but so are those cozy days where you can stay inside in your comfy clothes and fuzzy slippers, curled up by the fire wrapped in a blanket with your coffee reading a good book. I welcome the disappearance of the blistering cold of winter bringing April showers, May flowers, and a chance to start wearing my brightly colored fashion!

With the coming and going of season, you have the beauty of flowers and changing leaves, as well as blistering heat and frigid cold days. You have to take the good and the bad to fully appreciate and enjoy this beautiful cycle of nature. Just like nature, there are also positive and negative aspects that come with changes in our own lives.

I am currently undergoing a change of "season" in my personal life. I recently moved across the country from Texas to Virginia to start law school. I have never lived outside of Texas, much less thousands of miles away from friends, families, and all that is familiar to me. As much as I delight in the changes that God brings to His creation, I find it difficult to find the beauty in change that He allows to take place in life personally. I prefer things the way they have always been - familiar and comfortable. There are days where I wish sitting on the back porch of my parent’s house in my rocking chair would suffice, that time would stand still, and that nothing would pass away. Unfortunately, life does not happen this way. It goes on. Thankfully, we serve a God who stands the test of time and journeys with us through the change, whether it's a peak or a valley.

Change is good, but initially it can be challenging. I am thousands of miles from home, not knowing a soul, and living completely by myself for the first time. We all undergo change. Maybe your parents are going through a divorce, you are about to graduate and go to college, you recently broke up with a significant other, maybe you lost a loved one, maybe your body is going through some changes physically that are uncertain and weird. We can’t change the fact that change happens. But we can control how we deal with it.

So, what now? Why does God allow change to happen in our lives? How should Christians handle change? The first thing that I would like to point out is that if you are walking with Jesus, no matter what changes you are going through, He is right by your side. Even if you may feel alone, you are not. When I moved here, I had no internet (for weeks!), my phone did not get reception in my apartment, and I had no cable. Imagine the loneliness this change brought about. But on those days, I pushed more into Jesus. I came before His throne in prayer, worship, and through His word.

• It is amazing when you have no one but the Lord how much your intimacy with Him increases. So when you are undergoing change or when you feel alone - push into Jesus, come to Jesus, fall on Jesus. He will give you peace, rest, joy, fulfillment, and grace that can be found nowhere else. This tactic will not disappoint.

• Secondly, ask God why He is allowing change in your life. I am convinced that God allows change so that we will learn to rely fully on His timing and presence, which increases our faith in the process! It is in these times in my life that the most spiritual growth has taken place. I hope that you will see the change that the Lord has allowed you to go through as a blessing. It may be hard to see the good in divorce, puberty, or moving to a new place (especially when you feel all alone and as if no one understands). Let me put your worries to rest and tell you that God has a plan for you going through this change. I encourage you to look around and see the beauty of the change that is taking place before your very eyes!

Spring was always my favorite season because it is a beautiful season of growth (and I LOVE flowers). For there to be fields of flowers, there has to be rain. The same is true in our own lives: for the winter to pass and spring to come, we have to endure cold days. For the flowers to bloom, we have to walk through the rainstorms of life. There are some days when you may feel tall and beautiful as the trees look here in Virginia during those cool autumn days. Other days, you may feel sparse, exposed, and cold as the trees during the winter. Take heart, my friend! Some changes that take place in nature are gross and ugly, but have to take place for us to be able to enjoy the beauty that comes as a result. I charge you to see what God is trying to teach you through this. See the good in the sparseness of the trees because soon there will be beautifully colored leaves that fill the limbs! Then we can look back and thank God for the change that took place to create the majesty of His creation and work in your life!

Check out Amy's Bio!