Stability. I think it is something we all long for but often find very little of. Stability at work is hard to find with layoffs and the amount of turnover in the workplace. People desire stability at home, but the divorce rates are still high. One might desire stability in our government, but good luck with that! I could continue with many examples of the ways that people want stability.

There has not very much stability in my video schedule as of late. Before my family and I went on vacation from September 1-10, I needed to take a break from videos for a week to work on some administrative and event planning tasks. I was able to get a lot done that week and then it was off to the northern edge of Kentucky in the greater Cincinnati region.

Our main destinations were the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter which are some great apologetics-based attractions built by Answers in Genesis. The Ark Encounter was impressive with the sheer size of the life-size Noah's ark. I would highly recommend both places! We also saw the Cubs beat the Reds in sweltering 94° heat, visited the American Sign Museum that presents the history of signage, and saw the National Museum of the US Air Force.

The trip was great! It was nice to have a real vacation (other than seeing family) since I can't even remember my last vacation. A recent surgery made it easier to travel so it was nice to be able to go. I think my parents and I really needed the trip, and we enjoyed it.

It has been crazy ever since I got back. The week following our vacation was so full of other responsibilities that I still couldn’t resume videos. I finally got caught up and intended to resume videos the following week but that changed over that weekend.

I am a Denver Broncos fan and I had tickets to that Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders. We got to the stadium several hours early to find parking, observe the festivities, grab a leisurely lunch, and get ready for game time. The game started out well. The Broncos were ahead, the fans were excited, and we were enjoying our time!

However, about halfway into the second quarter, I noticed that my power wheelchair could turn left and right but would not go forwards or backwards. I turned it off and back on and nothing changed. So, at halftime my dad unplugged everything on my wheelchair that he could and plugged it back in to see if that would help instead of enjoying the halftime presentation. That didn't work either! By God's providence, we were sitting next to an OT that had experience in working on power wheelchairs! Unfortunately, my wheelchair was so complex to meet my needs that she couldn't do much more.

The game ended about as badly as the problems encountered by my wheelchair as the Broncos self-destructed in the second half and lost by two points. It didn't help that as the clock expired the referees missed a call that might have sent the game into overtime. So not only did I have to go home in disappointment that the Broncos lost, I also had to endure the disappointment of my dad driving me out of the stadium since my controls were malfunctioning.

The day after the game a wheelchair technician spent two hours trying to diagnose the problem. Because my wheelchair was so specialized and my drive system was not in their records, he did not have the necessary tools to diagnose the problem and did as well as he could. My Assistive Technology Professional (ATP), who originally ordered my drive system, could not take a look until Wednesday. After 2 1/2 hours, he diagnosed the problem! The downside is that a part needs to be ordered since it is a hardware failure.

The technician and ATP have been great! However, the system to order a replacement part is awful. Ever since my ATP put things in motion, I have been calling his office repeatedly to urge those responsible for taking care of ordering to get this done ASAP. This is further hindered by insurance and other steps in the rather ridiculous ordering process. Despite my efforts, it has already been a week and I hope to get the part next week. Obviously with all the time lost to having my chair looked at and spending time on the phone to advocate for my needs, resuming video production has been delayed yet another week.

As you can imagine, living without the one thing that gives me independence to move around and get out of the house is quite difficult. It is annoying. I hate it! Imagine if someone deactivated your legs for over a week and you needed help getting from point A to point B in your own home. This even makes it difficult to get out of the house especially in a wheelchair that is over 350 pounds. It has separate controls that my parents can use to drive it that still works because it uses a different drive system, but it is a little touchy, so it is often easier to push me around if the ground is fairly level. Either way, that is not my idea of getting around. I am thankful that I can still be move, but it's no fun that I cannot do it myself. I'd love to say that I am handling this well, but it has been hitting me hard.

Returning to the idea of stability, while stability is nice to have in this world, it's not often encountered in the sense of having no problems or change. The world is constantly changing around us and because we live in a fallen world stability is hard to come by. Even though this is the case, God gives those who follow him spiritual stability that is far more important.

I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. – Psalm 16:8

And he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure. – Isaiah 33:6

When you trust in the Lord, you have the ability to not be shaken by the things in this world. God gives us stability and assurance. Look at all the great things he has done in giving us salvation and the strength to follow him and endure any difficult situation. The world will always keep changing but he never does.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. – Hebrews 13:8

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” – Malachi 3:6

As a result of these truths God is our shelter and refuge and we can depend on him through it all. As I reflect on these truths, and my lack of the independence to move around currently, it brings me great encouragement because I know that my standing before him has not changed and that he is still there to help me through this until my chair is repaired. Even though I do not have much freedom to move around right now, I still have great freedom in Christ.

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. – Galatians 5:1

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. – 1 Peter 2:16

Look at how Christ has set us free! We have been freed from sin and death and can even overcome temptation. We should not use this as an excuse to sin, it should instead encourage us to live as servants of God. Even though I have not necessarily had the best attitude in this situation, these verses have reminded me to not let the circumstances of life hinder my willingness to serve him.

I hope that my recent struggles and these truths have encouraged you. Whatever changes, problems, or other circumstances you may be facing, know that God never changes and that you can look to him so you will not be shaken by them. Remember the freedoms and spiritual stability that God gives and know that they will never change because he never changes.