Adjustments

"Hey, Mr. Watson," said Thiago as he walked across the courtyard of his apartment complex. His neighbor was watering pink and white impatiens in a flower box."Hi, Thiago," replied the elderly man. "Have you gotten used to being in the city yet?"Thiago put his backpack down before he answered. "No, not really. I wish we didn't have to leave Oceanview. I miss swimming in the ocean.""You can swim here too, you know," said Mr. Watson as he began watering the plants in a large urn."I know. That's what Sam said--he's in my class at school. But the only place there is to swim around here is the city pool. I went with him one day, and it was so crowded, it was no fun at all! Nothing like swimming next to a sandy beach in the hot sun." "Sounds like you need to make an adjustment," said Mr. Watson.Thiago sighed. "What if I don't want to?""I didn't either. Before I moved to this apartment, I used to have a big garden at a house outside the city. When I first moved here, I tried to grow the same flowers on the north side of this complex as I had grown in my big, sunny garden. Most of them either died or grew spindly and didn't bloom.""Your flowers look okay to me," said Thiago, looking at the boxes and urns popping with color. "That's because I adjusted to my new situation and planted flowers that bloom in the shade," Mr. Watson explained. "I learned that God created more than one kind of beautiful flower. And you might discover that God has good things He wants you to experience here that you wouldn't have had in Oceanview.""You sound like my Sunday school teacher," said Thiago. "She's always telling us that if we know Jesus, we can be content no matter where we are or what we have.""Well, she's right," said Mr. Watson. "Jesus has given us eternal life and promises to be with us in every situation, and because of that, we can be content. Trust Him to help you adjust to your new situation. Give it some time, and you might learn to like city life--just like I've learned to like impatiens and begonias." –Ruth McQuilkin