Changes of Life

One thing we all experience
As we journey through the years
Are the many changing cycles
We sometimes face with fears

First, from helpless infancy,
So rapidly we grow,
Learning how to walk and talk
Sometimes falling as we go.

Through childhood's busy schedules,
In all life's varied schools,
Growing in knowledge and character
From our parent's rules.

Then, the troubled turbulence
Of frenetic teenage pace,
Juggling our development,
Demanding our own space.

Then we reach adulthood
With its responsibilities,
Finding our direction,
Establishing families.

We face the changes of menopause
With many an anxious frown,
Our bodies age and weaken
And everything slows down.

Then loved ones start to leave us
Dear friends weaken and fall,
We face our own mortality
That we don't like at all.

But underlying everything
As each change is taking place,
There is the deep unchanging
Of our God's love and grace.

Praise God, He never changes,
Dependable and strong,
He has the power to help us
As we still travel along.

Right from the beginning
He watched over us with care,
Waiting for us to trust Him
And keep in touch through prayer.

He fed us and He nurtured
Through His blessed Word,
Making our lives fruitful
When His call we heard.

And He'll never fail us,
Our precious, Faithful Friend,
He Who never changes
Stays with us to the end.

Honoria A. Groves