I saw some neighbor kids the other day having a great time on a hot day.

They were standing in a wading pool. But the fun came as each tried to capture bubbles coming from a bubble machine set up on the sidewalk nearby. Bubbles were everywhere and the squealing and clapping prancing around was a sight to see.

When I was a child, one of the things I liked best was bubbles. Yes, the old kind in a jar with the plastic blower.

In Kansas City, Susie and I always had Soapy Bubbles. I don’t think there is such a thing anymore, but the Soapy Bubbles bottle had a picture of a child on it and she was surrounded by bubbles, some floating in the air and some drifting.

Then Susie and I progressed to a long plastic straw where we dipped it in the Soapy Bubbles and blew. This made for giant bubbles that wobbled in the air as they floated and popped near the ground.

Susie and I would do all kinds of things with those bubbles. We tried to catch them and pop them. A bubble that was giant, wobbly and delicate disappeared in an instant because it is so fragile. No matter how hard we tried to catch it or touch it, it vanished in a second. One moment the air is full of fascinating bubbles, and less than a minute later they are all gone.

It’s like time; we wake up one day and where has the time gone?

Yes, with the passing of time, circumstances, events and situations in life do change. Nothing stays the same. Families change. New babies are born, son-in-laws, daughters-in-laws, nieces, nephews and cousins are added to the clan. Children grow up and parents grow older. Mothers who have tended their children for years wake one morning to an empty house.

A mother’s children are gone and to her it only seems like yesterday that she was finishing cupcakes on an early school morning to take to the third-grade class Christmas party.

People move. People who have lived in Clovis for years pack up and leave and new people move in. Everything changes. Who would have thought 10 years ago that Cannon Air Force Base would turn into a special operations base? Who would have thought 10 years ago that we needed Homeland Security?

 The economy “shifts,” and the stock market rises and falls. Governments change. Wars and rumors of war abound. 

Life is unpredictable and as life moves, we go with it.  The thing is we must enjoy the moment because change is inevitable, which causes the moments of our lives to be terribly delicate.

I know though that in the midst of change, I can always count on one area of my life to be consistent: Jesus. The Bible says: “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8.).

The Christ we have today is the same Christ that fed the five thousand years ago, the same Christ who calmed the sea, walked on the water, healed diseases and conquered death.

If we trust him, Christ can sustain us through the swelling tide of change, no matter what season of our lives or condition of the world or the ephemeral moment of the hour. After all, delicate bubbles, whether in child’s play or a moment of time, are too soon gone.

Judy Brandon is a Clovis resident. Contact her at: cbrandon@plateautel.net