Being Subject to Change
I remember how much I wanted to gain weight when I was a teenager. I was so skinny they called me “beanpole”. I even took Raquel Welch’s recommendation and bought “Wate-On” tablets (for real) because I wanted to look like my peers who had already “filled out” quite nicely (at least in my eyes, they had). Oh, but things changed. Now I pay close attention to what I eat, how much I eat, and being sure to stay active so that I DON’T gain weight. LOL! Believe me. It’s a daily work-out!
I remember when I covered my body from head to toe in baby oil, then laid out in the sun to get a tan. Now, I wear 50+ sunblock IF I go out in the sun. I remember wearing the highest heels. When I was looking for some new shoes with the very low wedge heels, I told a young woman: “I’ve graduated from that class (she was buying some stiletto heels), now these are my new “high”!”
I’m guessing that, like me, you’ve either just come out of a season of change or are entering a season of change. And your changes are even more monumental than the ones I mentioned. It might be your youngest child is about to start kindergarten or your oldest child is about to start college. You might be moving to another state or looking for a new job. It might even be your spouse recently passed away.
Change has a way of swirling in and around our lives. Just when we willingly, or even hesitantly, make the adjustments, more changes come. And whether we like the new that’s come, or wish we could run and hide, our feelings don’t change the inevitable.
Facing another change, and handling it well, requires us to be people of great dependence in He Who changes NOT. Malachi 3:6 “ For I am the LORD, I change not….”
I made a big change and a move in February to Austin. I have found that times of transition are God’s way of setting us up for the opportunity to grow into the best we can become so that He can fulfill His ultimate destiny for our lives. I’m learning. I can allow the pressure of transition to transform me. I can permit the rain AND the sunshine in my life to grow His fruit in me. I can daily dish out the fruit found in Galatians 5:22: “The Fruit of the Spirit is Love, :joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
In the process of change, WHO are we becoming? During the planting, watering, and weeding seasons of change, if we will be faithful during each season, we’ll see beauty grow in our lives. As we lean into God, asking for strength through the peace OR through the pain, He will make us into who He’s intended for us to become: “Change is the essence of life; be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.” Reinhold Niebuhr