The Realities of Change

CHANGE...

Such a small word but yet it creates a huge amount of anxiety in even the calmest people. This past weekend I spent a great deal of time trying to calm and encourage my wonderful mother in law as we helped her move from the home that she has lived in for over ten years to a new home in a new city. I don't really think that it was the move itself that was scary for her but she was giving up a part of her life... part that can't be replaced. My father in law passed away 3 years ago and she has had to adjust to her new life without him. The actual grieving has past but this was her first move without him... The life that they built together was packed into boxes and put into storage..a life of memories condensed into some neatly packed boxes to be stored away and forgotten until another day. This was hard enough because she was so terribly overwhelmed by this task but then she had to "deal" with my husband, her son who despite being a great guy has no patience. There were several times that I thought she was going to cry just because of some of his comments when he was "just joking" around with her. I am sure he never even thought about the emotional toll that this move would take on his mother and how hard it was for her to decide what was going to her new home and what would go into storage until who knows when. We don't really realize what an effect that change has on our lives into we are body slammed with it and it totally knocks the breath out of us. We all struggle with change..I wish I could have done more to offset the heartbreak that I know that this move brought for my mother in law even though she will now be roommates with her daughter which she is really looking forward to. But change is like the wind... it will eventually blow your way... sometimes quietly and othertimes with hurricane force... Sometimes with a force that you don't think you can endure.

Our church was rocked to the core this past summer by the sudden departure of our beloved pastor of 17 years. God has moved him into another area of ministry and although we were initally sad with the news we were totally happy for his opportunity to serve in another area. CHANGE... small word...huge uncertainty...Today was our annual church conference where we as a body of believers come together to look at where we have been in the past year and where we are going in the coming year. The crowd was noticeably smaller in size than normal ( some people haven't figured out that church is not about who the pastor is but what God is doing in the life of the church and it's members) but even with the decrease in attendance the evidence was notable... The winds of change have blown through our church family too. We are still searching for an interim pastor and new policies and procedures have had to be put into place too. The economy has created changes in our church as well.. The cost of gas has given way to families having to decide if they can "afford" to go to church once, twice or three times a week. CHANGE... small word... lives forever altered.

As mentioned, change definatly can be negative but what if we choose to look at change as a positive? As a Christian, I can personally attest to the positive change that has come from my decision to accept Christ as my personal Savior. I am truly blessed and I try very hard not to worry about change because then we "short change" God in allowing him to work in our lives.. to fulfill His plans for us.

God has a plan for my mother in law's life and her move is all a part of that plan. Perhaps He will bring her into contact with people that will help her with her grieving... new friends... a new job... a different but new life. The same could be said about my church family. I truly believe that God is strenghening our faith in Him by not providing us with what we think we need right away. CHANGE... in God's time might just possibly be divine. He will increase our faith through all of our anxiety... uncertainty... anger .... and fear... Better days are coming... CHANGE... I feel a lift in the wind already... What about you?