Our family headed to a local restaurant one Sunday for lunch.
Something unexpected happened. And not in a good way.
We were arriving in separate cars to the restaurant since all my kids are grown. My husband and I arrived first along with my youngest son and his girlfriend. Since we were a large group, my husband rushed into the restaurant to put our names on the list for a table.
Now, I should mention that the Cicadas were going wild in Middle Tennessee at this time, and they were making lots of noise. They were intriguing because they only come around every so many years. I also should mention, I was wearing these cute flip-flops with sparkles. And with it being a Sunday after church, the restaurant was busy.
As I sauntered toward the restaurant, with my son behind me, a Cicada caught my eye, and I stopped watching where I was going and pointed out the insect to my son. All the while, I kept walking forward even though I was excitedly pointing out the insect to my right.
“There’s a Cicada!”
Then, my cute flip-flop caught on the sidewalk in front of me, and I began to tumble forward in slow motion.
My efforts to keep from falling were no match for gravity. I saw a brick corner right in front of my head and tried to block myself from crashing into it headfirst. Finally, I hit the sidewalk in an awkward position with my purse landing nearby.
“Oh no. A lady just fell!”
“Are you alright?”
“Do you need help?”
There were many people milling around in front of the restaurant. A stranger and my son helped me get up. When I finally got to my feet, I realized nothing was broken, and I could walk. Even though my cute flip-flop was now full of blood from catching my toe on the sidewalk. A piece of used chewing gum was stuck to my pants on my knee.
Stunned by the fall, I checked to make sure my clothes weren’t torn. All in all, I was okay. Shaken. Embarrassed. Bruised and scraped. But otherwise, all right.
This whole incident was due to my spotting a rare insect. I realized I couldn’t just willy-nilly be walking around in cute flip-flops, staring at whatever I wanted without paying attention to where I was going.
A few months have passed since this incident, I’m healed up now. The large knot and bruise on my shoulder and knee have disappeared. I peeled away the gum from the pants, and they were fine, as well. I still wear them today. My flip-flops are all cleaned up, and you’d never know they were all bloody and caused me to take such a tumble.
Sadly, I’m sure the Cicada is dead by now.
But here I am. Changed for the better in a way. Because I recognize I’m not the young person I used to be and falling is more painful the older I get. I will watch where I’m going. I’ll be more careful with my steps and not allow myself to be distracted by something temporary, like a rare sighting of a Cicada. It could be my downfall. Literally.
This unexpected happenstance is almost funny now that it’s in the past.
But some of us will have unexpected changes in our lives as we age. And some of those will not be funny. They will be shocking, devastating, and life-altering and can come when we least expect them. They can happen when we think we have our future planned and figured out. We’re in the last half of our lives. Everything is on track. We know what happens from here.
Don’t we?
Sadly, no. Nothing we plan is ever promised. Long-term marriages can end with the death of our spouse or the death of the marriage. We promise till death do us part, but that’s not always the case. There are sad reasons why we may find ourselves facing an unknown future alone and not what we planned.
But God knows the future and like the song says, “He holds the future in His hands.”
Nothing will ever be the same. But still, God is with us. He won’t leave us or forsake us. He has plans for us even when we face unexpected life changes.
Here are three ways to help navigate the truth in unexpected life changes:
1. Finding the Way
For your ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all your paths. Proverbs 5:21
Maybe we didn’t see the change coming, but God did. Nothing happens without His foreknowledge.
Our problem is we can’t comprehend Him knowing everything and not stopping it. Why did He allow this? We can get angry with God in situations when it doesn’t seem fair.
It’s okay if we’re upset. He understands.
His bountiful grace will pave the path for us. It will lead us straight to Jesus because He is the Way. When we find our way to Him in our situation, we can rest knowing He’s in control and is with us whatever we’re going through.
There’s peace in finding the way.
2. Knowing the Truth
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”. John 8:32
The truth in the changes in our lives can bring us to our knees. We may be completely devastated by whatever has happened, causing a different future than we planned. But knowing the truth about a situation is always better than believing a lie, even if it hurts.
We must process our emotions and grieve the loss. There will probably be serious heartache, but we may discover freedom in knowing the truth.
The greatest freedom comes in knowing Jesus is with us as we go through these changes. Turn to Him every moment possible. When we know Him better, we’ll trust Him more.
Through this time of change we can deepen our relationship with God. It may skyrocket to a level in our lives we never knew existed because we now know Him in a better way and trust Him more than ever.
3. Living the Life
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:27
The unexpected has changed our life. Nothing will be the same, and that can be scary. But worrying about everything won’t help anything.
Hopefully, we’ve accepted the truth, found our way, now it’s time to live the life God has for us.
I love fresh starts and new beginnings. We get a do-over of sorts. A new life to live in a different way than we had before.
Will it be easy? Maybe not. We’re older and set in our ways. But hopefully, wiser.
We’ve been through a major life struggle, but we’ve come out on the other side with greater strength than we knew we had within us. Because God is with us, guiding us into our new reality.
We may find ourselves taking a tumble in life as I did that fateful Sunday afternoon at a busy restaurant. It may be painful and possibly even embarrassing. But the bruises will heal, and the pain will diminish over time.
We’ll find our way to a new normal and the truth is our life may be better than ever. We may discover freedom and growth in our later years we never could have experienced in our youth.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/EmirMemedovski
Melinda Eye Cooper grew up in the Missouri Ozarks but lives near Nashville, Tennessee with her family. She writes articles and devotions and has some fiction projects in the works. Melinda grew up in a large family and is number seven of ten children. Many of her devotions and stories are inspired from her childhood.
Melinda has been honored to be a Selah Awards finalist for online articles and was a finalist for the 2023 Writer of the Year Award with Serious Writer as well as a 2024 Semi-finalist for the ACFW Genesis Contest.
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Her book of articles and devotions is available here.