Change
Change is everywhere, everyday. These changes can either be choices, or they can simply happen to a person. When someone decides to wake up at 8am rather than their normal time of 11am, this is a change that they choose to make. When someone moves to a new house, this is typically a change they choose. But when someone wakes up in the morning and receives that one phone call they never expected, with news they never expected, well, this change was not a choice they would have made. So, what should we do with these changes?
Thankfully, we are all human beings, therefore we all have similar experiences. We are all in control, not of what happens to us, but how we react to what happens to us — how we respond to the world around us. I know that the Creator has a plan for my life and for the things that happen to me, I know that they will turn out for my good. Everything happens for a reason, whether that be to grow me, to help me understand grief, or to help me make a choice that is serving others rather than myself.
The seasons change, and no one can control them. Leaves fall, flowers die, and the world keeps on spinning. The sun always manages to rise the next day, whether we want it to or not, and the clouds always evaporate more water each day. The weather changes from day to day, the seasons change, and even the length of daylight, and not one single person has a say in this matter. No one can control whether or not a plant dies, all you can do is water it and provide it with sunlight. No one can control whether or not it rains, but you can always bring an umbrella.
People change too! On one random Tuesday you will realize your brother is not so little anymore, but has grown into a man who has a job and can drive a car. You will see your grandmother grow older, less able to take you to lunch without your help. Your dad will call, your best friend will stop calling. And you will change too, learning to live freely, leaning into who you were created to be.
Change is hard, but it is inevitable. When I first went to college, I experienced the change of a lifetime, and it broke me a little bit. I didn’t know who to turn to or where to go, but I eventually found peace in knowing that there is a Creator who knows me fully and wants what is best for me and for my life, and this gave me hope that things would get better and would get easier. And they did. I have always had a hard time when things end unexpectedly and when I don’t have a say about it, but these are the times when I have learned the most how to give up control over my life. We don’t have a say in everything that happens to us, but in the things we do have a say in, we should strive to make changes that will help us grow and blossom into the best versions of ourselves, as which is serving others and the Creator primarily.
So, when things unexpectedly end, think about how you are going to react this time. When relationships shift and people grow older and expectations shift right along with these things, how are you going to respond? Are you going to grow cold and bitter, thinking your life would have been better if these things hadn’t changed? Or are you going to think about how you can respod to this change in a way that grows you and helps those around you?
Change is inevitable, but we always control how we respond. This is free will. This is freedom of choice.
