Spring Forward and Being Willing to Change

Time to set our clocks FORWARD an hour. You’re welcome! Daylight Savings begins tomorrow morning at 2:00 a.m.

Making changes and adapting to them is often easier said than done. This change is a no-whiner and no-brainer and pales in comparison to the changes we have faced over the last two years.

I sat with friends at our Thirsty Thursday 5 pm event. One of the gals who sat with us was talking about how difficult it was for her to adapt to wearing face masks. She has a hearing problem and the masks made it even more difficult to hear and understand those she was trying to listen to. In this case, changes aren’t easy!

Then she went on to tell us how thrilled she was with her new hearing aids and during our conversations, she could hear her phone give a “message received” sound. She said, “It’s a miracle!” Change was good.

Changes aren’t easy, but I like to think that we were audacious soldiers who put our combat boots on and became strong, resilient conquerors when it came to how well we adapted to changes over the last two years.

Maybe you’re one of the rare breeds who weathered these two years like undaunted champions – especially those who were on 24/7 duty with food prep, school-at-home regimes, and activities that kept their “team” occupied and having fun. Maybe, you were one of the front-liners who fearlessly put yourself at risk and in harm’s way to help others. Maybe one of your loved ones didn’t survive Covid, but you did and you are carrying on. Shout outs to everyone that adapted to change in the wake of so many changes!
When I talk about this time change and the fraction of angst it could mean to adapting to new time schedules, we realize it’s just a blip on our radar screens. With God’s help, we have adapted well!

Changes are inevitable. Like this Daylight Savings Time change – it’s going to happen whether we want it to or not. Being willing to embrace change has so many rewards.

I look back on my life and see God’s providential hand in each change we made. We can hold change like the tight reins of a horse and resist it and refuse to submit to change, or we can shed that old stuck-in-the-mud thinking of “I’ve ALWAYS done it this way, and I’ll never change”. Or we can embrace change and grow and learn and adapt and be ALL God destined us to be.

Here’s the good news. We have this blessed assurance. God NEVER changes. “I am the Lord, and I do not CHANGE.” (Malachi 3:6). He walks with us in every season of life — no matter how easy or difficult.

We can choose to accept CHANGE because God has a plan for our lives – to give us hope, a great future, and to prosper us. If we trust in Him and allow the CHANGE to mature us in our faith and to grow us in becoming more like Him in how we respond and act, then we are promised that “Everything will work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28)

God orders our days. He knows the seasons we are exiting from, and He also knows those we are about to enter. It’s a new day – yesterday is gone. Let’s go ahead and set our clocks forward an hour and plan to awaken to the assurance that God knows all and if we’ll board His ways, we’ll travel higher, further and safer than we could ever imagine. I think I hear Him saying to us “I’ve got this so let go and let Me carry you through each CHANGE. Relax. Enjoy the ride. Trust Me!”