Change.

It comes in the form of seasons.

It comes in the form of life circumstances.

It comes daily.

Sometimes it’s good. Sometimes it’s devastating. Sometimes it’s everything you’ve been longing for.

Change is often prayed for when you feel the pressure of a situation completely out of your control. Can you relate?

I know we could relate, rant, and share about all the things we want to change in our lives right now.

But instead of ranting, let’s pause and encourage one another. You don’t know what I’m facing, and I don’t know what you’re facing. But here’s what I do know: despite our desire to control, the thing that truly needs to change isn’t that person, situation, or circumstance. Maybe…just maybe…it’s our hearts.

I must choose to lean on the Lord and bring my struggles to Him. His plan matters far more than me voicing “what I really think” about these circumstances.

The Aster flower meaning has long been tied to faith, wisdom, and hope . Its star-shaped petals symbolize patience and love, making it one of the most meaningful September birth flowers.

As I painted the Aster for September’s 1 of 100 watercolor painting series , I realized how much it reflected the change I was longing for in my own life. I wanted people to change, circumstances to change, but what truly needed to shift was my heart and my attitude.

The Aster symbolism reminds us that even in life’s transitions, the beauty of faith remains.

September itself is a transitional month. We’re stepping into autumn, a season that can be viewed with dread, or with joy.

We can focus on the cold of the coming winter, or we can embrace the beauty of fall flower symbolism : bonfires, glowing sunsets, and everything pumpkin.

Our perspective determines the kind of season we experience. Will we let our circumstances define us? Or will we lean on the Lord, trusting Him with the day-to-day, as well as what’s ahead?

As we feel the ache for this uphill, exhausting season to finally end, we can still hold on to hope.

Romans 5:3–5 reminds us:

“...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

This seasons of change scripture shows us that our sufferings are never wasted. We have a lasting hope that never disappoints.

Friend, you’re not alone in desiring change. It can come. It will come. It must come.

The September flower meaning carried by the Aster is one of deep encouragement: hope and renewal in the midst of change.

As I painted the Aster, I prayed you would see more than a bloom. I prayed you’d see a reminder that change will come. It doesn’t have to be feared. It can be embraced with faith.

My prayer is that you will lean on the Lord in this season, let Him shape your heart, and trust Him with His timing.

Want to go deeper? Read Romans 5 this week and reflect on how God is using your current season to grow endurance and character. Be reminded that, “hope does not put us to shame,” because for the believer, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts.”