shifting shadows

I went for a long walk this morning up to our local community college campus. It's a favorite place for me to walk on a Sunday, find a bench in the quad and pray or just have time alone. This morning was bright and somewhat cold, and hard blue and purple shadows mirrored the houses and street signs on the road. The sun was nice, but the shadows caused me to think about a particular scripture, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows". This scripture formed the foundation for my favorite hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness. The first verse goes like this, "Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with Thee, Thou changest not, Thy ompassions they fail not, As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be"...

Thou changest not...isn't that what we long for in life, and more completely, in people? We want to be able to predict what is coming and to trust in the behaviors of people we know. Nothing causes me more problems than unpredictable behavior, or someone acting badly. The reason a person does not change and has predictable character is because their heart is true. Even when there is a bad or wrong action, it's fairly certain the motive was right. How I wish I could read people's minds or hearts, but in a way the actions and the words serve as indicators over time.

I went to church this morning, and wasn't surprised to hear the scripture I first mentioned quoted with regard to the character of God's goodness, that He is unchanging and the Author of every good and perfect gift. I have to trust that the people He brings my way are His greatest gifts to me, and that if I can't always trust the person, I can trust the God who knows all things and does not change in His goodness.