When I look back at the life I have lived and see all that God has done for me through good times and bad, I just overflow with gratitude to Jesus for it all. Through the years, He has shown me His love is unchanging as well as His Word. God tells us in Malachi 3:6 “For I, the Lord, do not change.” Then in Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Therefore, do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings.” I can trust what God says in His Word since He never changes. We are the ones who change in our love for Him and our willingness to obey what He says.

Be cause of this, we can also know that He is with us wherever we are and whatever our circumstances in life. For He says in Hebrews 13:5 “For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you, nor will I forsake you.” I know He is with me despite all others being against me. I know He is with me during and after the flood. I know He is with me in my illness and infirmities. I know this because He says so and He has always been where I am. Even in times of sorrow when rejected by the church we were sent to shepherd and lead; when my mom, brothers, and dad went to be with Him leaving me without family; when my husband went to live with Him and I was left alone. He walked with me through the grief and brougnt me out whole. He has renewed my strength and filled my life with joyful song.

The Lord has kept my children faithful to Himself through the years. They are each serving Him in the path He has led. I praise Him for that and am praying all my grandchildren and their spouses will follow Him also. For therein lies life in all its beauty and fulfillment. God is so very good to me in every sense of the word. I deserve none of His goodness and mercy, yet He has forgiven me and lifted me out of sins destruction. I can never thank or love Him enough to repay Him. I can only glorify His Name and seek to make His faithfulness and love known to others.

: “Speak to Him, thou, for He is near and Spirit with spirit shall meet Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands or feet.” anon.