Permanence and change
I took this photo less than a block from our front door in Alexandria, October 2015.
“October is a symphony of permanence and change.” ― B. W. Overstreet
It’s comforting that some things remain the same. As the seasons remind us, there is a reassuring pattern in nature that helps us stay on track when everything around us seems to be in meltdown.
The changes in my personal world, and in the world at large, have been beyond anything I could have predicted even a few short years ago. Sometimes it seems as if things cannot possibly go on, and yet they do. The news broadcasts are full of malice and mayhem, disaster and desolation, and yet somehow the sun continues to rise and people everywhere press on through devastating challenges and everyday frustrations.
It’s often said that anniversaries of great sorrows are difficult, and I have found that to be true. Yet we have managed to survive this past year, and this realization consoles us as we recall the strength and stability that were the hallmarks of Jeff’s legacy to us.
The splendor of nature’s passage into winter is a visual tribute to the bittersweet beauty of life’s transitions. I wish for you a glorious symphony to accompany you as you survive and celebrate the permanence and change in your own life.
This post was first published seven years ago. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Tagged: Autumn, change, consolation, fall, nature, October, patterns, permanence, seasons, stability, survival
Defeat Despair 
Hi Julia,
Nice picture! The transition into autumn is my favorite, followed by spring.
The title of this post reminds me of that old saying, which has been mentioned here in other posts, “the only constant in life is change itself”. I’ve come to believe that the human experience is simply one transition after another. It’s called life. All of us will have those great ‘mountaintop’ moments, and we all will have the moments of despair. And then, we press on. We are all God’s children. Our Heavenly Father desires for each of us to lead an abundant, fulfilling life, filled with peace and joy. Seemingly, some people are always happy, and live a joyful life. Others, however, seem to be mired in crisis after crisis, tragedy and less fortune. While I haven’t unlocked the key to this mystery, I do think that as we migrate from season to season throughout this life, finding the joy in this experience is made easier, and more plentiful, when we are more closely aligned with our Father’s instructions. So, one of my new purposes in life is to be the “key” for others to recognize. I hope to bring a little joy to others’ lives when I can, especially for those younger and just beginning to understand and traverse the road of life. In doing so, maybe I can reduce the tragedy and increase the joy in life. 😊
Chris, that’s a very good aspiration for all of us to follow. And I too have noticed that some people seem never to be happy, while others find joy despite harsh circumstances. In our years of Jeff’s active duty in the Air Force, it seemed to me that some families talked about being terribly unhappy in even the luckiest assignments (Hawaii, California, etc.) while others enjoyed every tour, even the ones in harsh climates or thousands of miles from home. So much of happiness really is about attitude. In 2022, when I had my catastrophic facial injury and faced two years of multiple surgeries to rebuild the damage, one of our blog readers here sent me a lovely card that is still posted on my cabinet door. It included Psalm 27:1, a lovely and kind personal note, and the following quote from Bill Bright: “The sermon of your life in tough times ministers to people more powerfully than the most eloquent sermon.” I thought of that when I read your comment.
Great quote, really! There’s always someone watching! So, the moral of this story is, be the person you are called to be, and set the example. Love to you and Matt. 😊
Thank you, Chris! I am so happy you have been with us all these years.