Bokelskere.no

"When one era in our life comes to an end," Grandma said, "and we have to start all over again, it can be a good thing.

It gives us a chance to decide what's really important. Nobody likes change, Lucy. But even if everything else is taken away, God is still with us."

It isn't our calling as Christians to write laws that force people to live moral lives. As much as our communities might need it, and as bad as things are, imposing our morality on others isn't the answer.

It doesn't work. People may be forced to give up alcohol, but they are still going to hell. That's our calling - to bring people to Christ - not to force them to behave the way we want them to or to solve all their external problems.

We argued it until we had each drunk enough coffee to keep us awake for a week.

You have to trust that He is arranging the events in your life in order to lead you to the purpose He has for you (...)

Sometimes those events are tragic and painful. But He uses them to shape us into the people He wants us to become.

"So the real question is," Bebe continued, "are you willing to change for him? That's what you must decide. Don't expect him to change.

You're the one who must change. Do you love him that much? Could you give up your way of life and live in his world for his sake? Or are you expecting him to fit into yours?"

Joy and sorrow are two sides of the same coin. They both come in seasons, just like floods and droughts.

I have to move forward, not backward. And change is a part of life. I learned that growing up on the farm - sowing, growing, harvesting - life always goes on.

But if there's one thing I've learned from that amazing group of women, it's that God puts other people in our life so that we won't have to suffer through it alone.

"Life is like that, Beatrice - always changing, always flowing forward like a stream. Things never stay the same. And we have to move on and change, too."

"What if I don't want things to change?"

"You can't fight against the current. You need to trust God and be prepared for wherever the river of live will take you next."

... watching the spreading ripples, realizing that one raindrop - one person - could make a difference. Multiple raindrops and multiple persons, all interacting and colliding and stirring up the placid surface could create a tidal wave of change.