Trusting God in the Midst of Change

I recall the time when my mother had a major car accident. My father had called to me from outside my bathroom door. I could still hear the confusion in his voice as he was trying to make sense of what his wife’s struggling words were trying to explain to him. 

What crazy timing.

I thought to myself as I was hurriedly drying myself from the short shower I just took.

“Your mother got into an accident! We’ve gotta hurry!” My father panicked. I scurried out the bathroom door, worried as ever. I could feel my stomach coiling into knots, and my vision went into tunnel mode as I attempted to dress myself properly.

When my father and I managed to arrive at the scene, somehow bypassing the oncoming traffic, I was relieved to find my mother sitting on a patch of grass on the road, seemingly ok.

I tried to help her up and realized she had a fractured leg as she winced in pain, trying to stand. I hugged her and told her everything was going to be ok as she was crying and uttering something about the car in between breaths. 

“It’s alright, Mom,” I say. “It’s a miracle that you are alive and well. Don’t worry about the car.” I turned to see what was left of the SUV she drove, which was a mangled mess. But nothing brought me more joy than seeing my mom standing before me, and I thanked God for it.

Fast forward, after the hospital stays, the doctors told us everything was going to be alright, but that she had a fractured leg and ribs and would need extra time healing. Nothing could have prepared me for all the responsibility I would have to undertake between filing for her Family Medical Leave and following up on my work and other responsibilities, as well as taking her to and from doctor visits, not to mention helping her bathe and prepare her meals. 

Everything changed. 

My mother wouldn’t be able to drive again due to her previous condition, which caused the accident, and now my father and I had to figure out how my mother would still somehow remain independent without being able to travel very much. 

The responsibility of caring for her and running errands on top of managing my responsibilities gave a whole new meaning to the word tough. I just felt so overwhelmed and so small. How could I manage all of this?

At that moment, I realized I didn't have to have it all figured out. I had to surrender my worries and doubts to Him and believe that, despite the hardships, He will help me to persevere.

In the following weeks, I kept remembering the verse from Isaiah 41:10, which stuck with me like glue, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.” This verse helped me to pull through my uncertainty and moments when I almost felt like I could not go on anymore.

Over time, people’s small acts of kindness, such as sweet phone calls and flowers, along with my family’s support, did make a world of difference. I made sure to thank God for that. I know not everyone can relate to having such a support system. My mother’s slow signs of recovery were like God’s gentle reminder whispering to me, “I am here. I am with you.”

Relying and trusting in God was no walk in the park. My doubts have always found their way to resurface somehow whenever I didn’t receive an immediate solution. But God’s timing is simply not our timing. Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminded me: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”

One of the hardest lessons I have learned was learning that I may not always have control over my circumstances, but I can always choose how I think and react to them. If you fill your thoughts with God’s scripture and believe in Him, He will work wonders in your life. Change requires trust—and trust means releasing the need to always be in charge.

Just like it states in Philippians 4:6-7 helped me: “Do not be anxious about anything...but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Letting go and letting God take the lead is the first step to realizing that you can rely on  Him for anything. Now, I remind myself daily: Trust isn’t about feeling unafraid and just powering through the day. It’s about choosing faith over fear. It’s about trusting that, even if I don’t know what’s next, God does—and He’s got me.

My mother eventually healed and became her independent self, like she always was, and this blessing became a living testament to how God had helped me to trust in Him in the midst of change.

-Annamaria Aparaschivei