But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
~Matthew 19:22 NLT
Living with change is challenging.
He thought he wanted change . . . but he really didn’t.
Our middle grandson woke up excited on his first day at his new school. He had waited for this day all summer. But as I walked him to his room on that first day, he screamed, “I want my Meme.” He soon settled down, and I thought we had won our battle with change. Not so. The second day’s experience repeated the first day, with the screaming a little less dramatic. Still, he wanted his Meme.
By the third day, his request for Meme was down to a whimper. He warmed up a little more to his teacher and came home a little more excited each day. He loved painting, singing, drawing, and going outside for recess. By the fifth day, the whimper had disappeared, and he walked into his room like a big boy. Change came slowly, but he adapted.
Change didn’t interest the rich young ruler Jesus encountered. He wanted to know what he had to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to obey the ten commandments. When he said he’d done that, Jesus told him to sell his possessions and give them to the poor. That command hit him where it hurt. He chose not to change—and went away sad.
Change is inevitable. It comes whether we want it to or not. Some changes we can control, but many we can’t. Our grandson had no choice in the school change. He had to go to school. Legally, he could have waited a few more years, but eventually, he would have had to go.
“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT).
When we buck life’s unavoidable changes, things happen. Misery comes—just as my grandson would have experienced had he chosen to keep resisting the school thing. We also won’t grow. Colton has grown intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually in just a brief period. Change does that through its discomfort.
Change teaches flexibility—what life is all about. Life involves numerous relationships, which require flexibility to work and be healthy. No longer could Colton do his home-with-Meme routine. Instead, he had to adjust to an entire class’s routine.
Learn to look at change as God-sent or God-allowed. Either way, He’s behind it and will guide you through it. And when you accept it, you’ll be a better person.
What are some ways you can better adapt to living with change?
The butterfly photo adds so much to your message. Thank you for the reminder.
Thanks. Diana.