Change: How to Keep Calm and Carry On

sA year ago at this time, the crocuses and daffodils were stretching upward to show off their color after a long winter’s nap, and our trees were budding and leafing.

With temps in the high 70s, we stored the snow-blower in the shop, uncovered the deck furniture, and set the Adirondack chairs around the firepit.

During this change-of-season ritual, I commented to my husband, “You know this means it will snow again, right?”

Yep. We woke up to three inches of the fluffy white stuff the next morning. Of course. (Did I mention it was mid-April?)

Here at the base of central Oregon’s Cascade Mountains, seasons shift and change every which way. Now, I love all things winter—fireplaces crackling, homemade soups bubbling on the back burner, families gathering for holidays. But I confess that we gardeners look forward to the variation in seasons.

Not all people are eager for change. It takes us away from the comfortable, the familiar. It sometimes costs, and sometimes hurts, and has the potential to unsettle us a bit. Or a great deal.

If you struggle with change, here are three thoughts to consider:

1.      Embrace the change

To those who don’t like the idea of change—because it messes with our routine and we’re quite comfortable where we are, thank you—I would say this: Change is inevitable. And while it’s potentially messy and inconvenient, much good can come from it.

When my first husband died of cancer and I moved away from the familiar because I couldn’t afford to stay, it was a significant upheaval. But God repurposed my life and brought beauty from the adjustments. And I love being in this new place.

Consider embracing the change and see if it doesn’t help lift the heavy weight of an occurrence you didn’t want to happen. See if it doesn’t bring beauty into your life.

2.      Live fully in the present

Some of us are longing for change. To those who are impatiently waiting for circumstances to shift—for the body to heal, for the dreamed-about spouse to make an appearance, for the job promotion—I would say: Live today. Pay attention to today. Notice those whom God has placed in close proximity to you, and love them well.

Don’t wish the weeks and days and minutes away. Because those minutes and days are your life. And you have only one life, so why not live it well?

3.      Be willing to take risks

For those who were blind-sided by change—the husband who walked away, the person who was asked to leave a ministry, the wife who watched her husband die of cancer—I would say: Don’t be afraid to turn the page to the next chapter of your life as you help God write your story.

It was Oswald Chambers who said:

“Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Leave the broken, irreversible past in his hands, and step out into the invincible future with him.”

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that:

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” – Hebrews 13:8

Yes, change is inevitable. But Christ is a steadfast, unshifting foundation on which we can solidly build our lives as the earth rotates and shifts around us.

Jesus Christ never changes. He never reneges on his promises. He will never rethink his desire to share an eternity with us in a place where there will be no more brokenness or sorrow or unwanted change.