November 2018

Change.

It’s something we all face - change in address or job title, relationship status or identity, eligibility or health.

Big or small, change is often associated with inconvenience and uncertainty. Sure, the novelty of something new can be exciting and a welcome change of pace from the life we’ve been living, but deep down, there’s still something unsettling about it all - stepping from the known into the unknown.

If we’re being honest, we’re creatures of habit. We like when things are predictable, expected, comfortable. We like to feel like we know what’s coming. We’re prepared, confident, and ready for what’s ahead.

We like to control the changes in our lives. We have the power to choose where to buy our groceries and what we want to eat for breakfast, who to vote for, which charities to support, and whether or not to sign up for that 5K next month.

And yet, just like the change in seasons, we sometimes find ourselves standing once again at the end of what has been and the beginning of what will be. The hard ones are the changes we did not choose or predict - the ones that often catch us by surprise and leave us feeling uncertain, resistant, and perhaps a little fearful.

It’s understandable. We grew accustomed to the way things were: a familiar routine, a comfortable workplace, a predictable salary, a place that feels like home. We got used to walking outside without a coat on and light that lingers long after dinner.

We were comfortable and content with how things were. And sometimes that’s exactly the time and place where change is most needed.

When we find ourselves just going through the motions of our day to day, change awakens us to the life we’re living and the work God is doing in and around us.

When our eyes no longer recognize the hidden beauty in small, ordinary moments, change offers us a new perspective and a greater sense of awareness.

When we become too comfortable in the lives we’ve so carefully crafted for ourselves, change spurs us to reach outside our comfort zones with kindness and generosity, to be vulnerable and act with courage.

Change helps us remember to pay attention, to notice things, to feel something; to wake up and start living again.

Here’s to welcoming change when it comes: standing with open hands and open heart, pressing into the uncertainty and stepping forward with courage; receiving the gift with gratitude for what has been and hope for all that is to come.