Unchanging God

Unchanging God

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Hebrews 13:8 (ESV)

The weather forecast looked promising for a smooth trip home to New England in late November, 2019, but forty minutes in, a sudden snow covered the road and sent cars reeling. I clenched the steering wheel, willing the car to stay on the road, praying not to slide into the cars that were spun around facing mine.

Slowly we crept, wondering if we should turn around. The exit ramps looked slicker than the travel lanes, so we forged ahead from Maryland through Pennsylvania, while the weather shifted from snow to ice, and I pleaded with the dashboard thermometer to rise above freezing.

Ice shifted back to snow in New Jersey, then fog and ice, and then in New York we were hammered by torrential rains and slammed around by wind gusts. At times it was impossible to see other vehicles, road signs, the road itself.

Thank you, God, for being our constant as we close out 2021 and celebrate the new year. Thank you that when we experience the changes that 2022 will inevitably bring, we can depend on You to always remain the same.

Even with the trip’s timing way off, I sensed when we were nearing one of my favorite landmarks: The Tappan Zee Bridge. Fortunately, visibility was just enough to merge into the lane headed for the bridge.

Moments later, panic struck as I drove beneath signs for a Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. I strained through sheets of rain to see signage confirming we were on 287, but I only saw another sign with someone else’s name on it.

Not being a GPS or smart phone user, I pulled off an exit to get my bearings. The signs there confirmed we were heading in the right direction on 287. Surprise: the Tappan Zee Bridge was renamed in 2018, but the signs were not changed to Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge until now. The harrowing drive continued until hours later when we pulled into my parents’ garage.

For me, the hazardous weather and traumatic driving conditions paled in comparison to the renaming of the Tappan Zee Bridge. Built between 1952 and 1955, it had always been the Tappan Zee. I like constants. I depend on them, especially when chartering my way.

But life is full of change. Some good. Some not. I thank God that He never changes. Though we may be tossed about in life’s storms, reeled by the unexpected, unsure of where we are headed, blindly gritting teeth hoping we will make it through, God is still God.