Change

"Well go ahead and die then!" (Said jokingly to a young lady who declared that she can't take change.)

Change must come. Sometimes uncomfortable, often foreseeable, but always inevitable. We live in a changing, transitioning, conforming, alterable reality. In fact we are changing as we speak. The you that started reading this article is different from the you that is reading and thinking about change right now. Someone once said, "We are not so much human beings as much as human becomings." For we are always in flux, ever developing into something other.

Change should be expected.

Wisdom produces enlightened foresight, while folly promotes blind ignorance. It is the wiseman who foresees change and the fool who is caught unawares. Businessmen who see market trends, inventors who foresee new applications of scientific fundamentals or farmers who can taste the changing of the seasons are all those who expect change. In like manner, we all should expect things to change. We must never be foolish enough to believe that things stay the same.

Change should be embraced.

Some try their best to resist change. They frustrate themselves by trying to hold on to the way things were. We often find comfort in homeostasis. It is familiar, it is safe, it is predictable, but it is a lie. You and things are changing, either for the good or the bad. Nothing stays the same. The inevitability of change calls for acceptance not resistance. The only way to stop change is to stop time. The best option is to embrace it.

Change should be enhanced.

Since change is coming, we then need to decide what that change will be. While we have no power to stop change we certainly are given power over how we are changed. You cannot stop the year from turning, but you can determine to not be in the same place when the year turns around. You cannot stop the sun from setting but you can make sure that it does not set on your anger. You cannot change the atmosphere from stormy to pleasant, but you can determine your attitude and actions in the storm.

Change is not the enemy but the arena in which we reveal the gift of God. We must have the right attitude about transitions to bring forth sweet fruit in due season.

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;

wisdom and power are his.

He changes times and seasons;

he sets up kings and deposes them.

He gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to the discerning.

He reveals deep and hidden things;

he knows what lies in darkness,

and light dwells with him.

-- Daniel 2:19-22