Jesus, the Unchanging One

This past year I learned to love Jesus more by embracing the constant change while holding on to his unchanging nature. In a year of pivoting, it was easy to become disoriented and dizzy. Having previously walked through the Ebola epidemic in our area of service, we knew this pandemic was going to create some seismic shifts, but of course at the beginning, none of us knew for how long. Literally everything we did in our ministry changed in this past year – our programming, our schedule, our work environment, our staffing, our location, our office culture, our fundraising methods, our board composition, our relationships – everything. For our ministry, these changes were permanent. We will never go back to our pre-COVID-19 structures. The change was daily, and it was exhausting. Additionally, I had many changes in my personal life – navigating mostly-grown children through pandemic challenges, kids graduating and flying the nest, a suddenly empty calendar, an unused carry-on bag, the start of a seminary degree, parents’ declining health, and a cross-country move.

There were, however, a few things that did not change – our mission, our vision, our passion to see vulnerable populations have access to hope and the gospel, our commitment to providing training to pastors and ministry leaders in hard-to-reach places, and Jesus. In all the changes, Jesus never changed. He cannot. Immutability is part of God’s very nature. And this was our anchor in the storm. 

Instead of allowing the winds of change to unmoor us, we strengthened our grip on the Anchor. We leaned into spiritual formation as a team – meeting daily on Zoom for prayer together, each team member meeting virtually every month with a spiritual director, connecting weekly for staff meeting and one-on-ones, and engaging practices that strengthened our souls. We re-evaluated the essentials and learned how to adapt those to the changing environment, realizing that our reach was far greater than before. 

And to our surprise, as we come out of this year of nothing-but-change, we have discovered that we are better and stronger. We have grown. Not only has our program grown, not only has our reach extended, not only has our team expanded, but our souls have deepened in Jesus, the Unchanging One. 

Change is hard, but it is necessary for new things to grow. And like a sapling that needs support, we have tied ourselves to Jesus through this year, and have fallen more deeply in love with him – individually, and as a team. May the unchanging anchor of Jesus root and ground you also, as you journey with him in the reconciliation of all things in this new world in which we find ourselves.

Key Quotation

Instead of allowing the winds of change to unmoor us, we strengthened our grip on the Anchor.

Kim Kargbo, Accessible Hope International