C.S. Lewis once said, “Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything is different?” I carry the same sentiment when looking back at the past few years: where has 2022 gone? Where have all the other years gone? It seems like regardless of what we do or don’t do, days continue fleeting by. To where they are rushing, I do not know.

As days fly by, they bring change. Europe’s climate makes it easy to see some changes. With winter comes long hours of darkness, freezing temperatures and rain. Spring starts with the blossoming of flowers and trees. Summer brings the excitement of the outdoors – people walking around in shorts, sitting on terraces, enjoying sunlight well into the night. Then as Fall approaches, the trees show off their splendid colours and drop their leaves to welcome winter. The change from season to season is incredible.

Some change however, happens on a personal level. We grow older, face new challenges, move to another city, fall in love, make new friends and start a new job. It is remarkable how much change can be packed in a single year. With days hastily passing by, it is only when we pause long enough that we can notice the change that has happened.

Change is exciting yet sometimes painful. More than that, change is natural and inevitable. For some, change is what gets their motor running. They run towards it with open arms and embrace it. For others like me, change in an unwelcome companion. We delight in watching the same shows, drinking the same tea and ordering the same food from the same restaurants. So how can one reconcile the inevitable reality of change with a personality or character that is opposed to this reality?

Three weeks after moving to Germany, I penned down a blog in which I wrote my experience living here thus far. I also shared how my mug and bowl helped me to not get too overwhelmed during those first weeks. They presented a sense of familiarity. They were a constant in a world of chaos and change. Howbeit, as living with other people would have it, one of my housemates used that bowl and for a few days kept it in their room. The first of these days were tough. On the first morning, I spent a good 5-10 minutes starring at the other bowls in the cupboard and asking myself two questions: why didn’t my housemate use any other bowls and more importantly, which bowl can I use this morning. For me, not all bowls are made equal so finding an answer to the latter question was particularly challenging.

As preposterous as the story of my bowl may sound, it reflects a deeper inner longing for a constant in an ever changing world. A sad truth is that one day, my bowl will be broken instead of just being taken from me for a few days. Another day my mug will crumble to pieces. When that day comes, I know it will not be the end because there is a true unchanging constant that I can hold on to. There is a God who is ever with me.

As days continue their fleeting ways, I know that in a few weeks’ time, I will be bidding farewell to some dearest friends I have made in Germany. A time will also come when I will have to leave my current city – a place I now call home. I already dread the changes that I can see hurdling towards me. I know many evenings will be spent thinking about my friends who will soon be leaving. Lonely days will come if I move to another city. Even so, there is comfort in knowing who is going before me and with me. I draw greater joy in knowing He will always be there. So as winter turns to spring and night to day, I will rest in the fact that when I raise up from my slumber, God is still God.