Change is one of the only guarantees we have in life, yet we all resist change for most of our lives. During some self-reflection this weekend, I acknowledged that I have become rather complacent in areas of my life. A couple of years ago, I saw that I was moving towards complacency and I desperately tried to spark myself to steer clear of that life-hole very few ever escape from. I didn’t want to become comfortable with where I was in life or satisfied with what I had. I thought such comfort and satisfaction meant that the desire to strive for more or better would be extinguished indefinitely. But resistance proved to be futile. I was indeed assimilated into the complacent culture surrounding me. Often during this period, I despondently asked God “Is this it? Is this all I have to look forward to?” He never quite said, “Yes,” but slowly my vision of the future got dimmer and dimmer until the present day was all I could focus on.
Now I can say with confidence that many seeds were planted and nurtured during my season of complacency. I know God was working on me even though I felt like a lump on log.
Fast forward to today, and I sense another change coming. I’m not resisting now. I am eager for this transition and I welcome it. My vision is widening beyond the day again and I’m open to whatever doors and experiences are revealed to me.
Change is inevitable, so resisting the evolutionary changes life takes us through is futile. But there is something we can do as we stumble through our processes. We can better prepare ourselves to receive the best each season of life has for us by letting go of our expectations of what the coming season will look and feel like. By letting go of our expectations, we become free to simply experience the changing elements in our life moment by moment and day by day. In this way we will learn to appreciate that we are exactly where we need to be, learning what we need to learn, growing in a way God has designed us to grow.
LaShawnda – I think that when we have a job we cling to it as a lifeline. I learned about the “rut” of “hole” you speak of when my company moved and I was without that lifeline and with a family to care for. God had begun the process of providing many months before my last day. The timing was perfect. Last work day was a Friday. First day at finishing college was the next Monday and my life has been changed forever. If I had not been forced out of the rut by a layoff, I would never had the life I have. Scary – YES, but oh so worthwhile.
Thanks, Connie. That’s about how it feels: like I was suddenly struck with a lightning bolt of understanding, “It’s time to move on.” At the same time disbelieving because the job has been such a safe haven for me through several life altering events over the last few years. I heard a sermon a couple of weeks ago with a refrain of, “How long will you mourn?” I realized I’ve been mourning for my life – all the losses, all the disappointments, the many deaths and separations, and everything that I’m not – since i started this job 5.5 yrs ago. I am eager to embrace life and newness and hope.
And I will walk with you through prayer. I see so much happening around me and it seems to have sped up. While I see natural disasters in the light of scripture, I am wondering if some of the people changes I see – harder hearts, but also more seekers – as a change also. Connie
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