This afternoon I went on a walk to appreciate the beautiful colors of Autumn, and my mind drifted to the topic of change.

I have never been one to like change.

I didn’t want to start first grade because I was afraid of staying at school after lunchtime.  Since my three closest friends transferred schools after fifth grade, middle school brought the fear of eating lunch without them.  When I moved up to high school, I was terrified of the upperclassmen.  The daunting world of college was more frightening than I thought I could handle.

You see, I don’t like change because it is scary. I am fearful.  Change is terrifying.  I am frightened.

Despite my fears, I loved first grade–as a first grader, I learned to spell “long” words (like because and swimming).  In sixth grade, I became friends with two girls that stuck with me through the most awkward years of our lives.  Some of the upperclassmen that I played sports with in high school actually turned out to be friendly.  Furthermore, college has taught me more than I ever anticipated.

I wish that I had learned the benefits of change by now, but change still haunts me.

When change happens, I have to face the unknown. I always like to know what will happen next, when it will happen, and how it will happen.  But when change occurs, those three facts are generally left up in the air.

And then there is the truth that change is painful.  Routine is comfortable, but change is unsettling.

Yet, I know that change is necessary…Change is beneficial…Change brings progress.

Without change, we  might have pumpkins, but we would not have jack-o-lanters.  We might have trees, but we would not have the beautiful colors of Autumn.  We might have caterpillars, but no dazzling butterflies.  Pain might exist, but there would certainly be no knowledge or strength.

Most importantly, change brings our salvation and sanctification.

In the past all of us lived like the world, trying to please our sinful selves and doing all the things our bodies and minds wanted. We should have suffered God’s anger because we were sinful by nature. We were the same as all other people.  But God’s mercy is great, and he loved us very much. Though we were spiritually dead because of the things we did against God, he gave us new life with Christ. You have been saved by God’s grace.  –Ephesians 2:3-6

When I was still living a life of self-pleasure and sin, God’s mercy and grace were great enough to rescue me.  He changed me and gave me a new life.

So, as hard as it is, I will embrace the change that brings godliness, beauty, and hope.

 

Questions for you:

Do you like change?  How do you deal with change?

What is the best thing that change has ever brought you?