Change is a common thing in life—in some stages more than others, but still change seems to be a constant, ironically, in most stages of life.
My husband and I are currently surrounded by change nearly everywhere we look. First, we will welcome our first child, a baby boy, into the world this summer (July 18). This is perhaps the biggest change that we will ever experience.
There is so much to do in the next four months, and we both know it will fly by. Before we know it, we’ll be a family of three, and life as we know it will have changed forever.
This big change brings about small changes almost daily. This weekend we said goodbye to Casey’s two-door car that he’s had since high school and bought a minivan. Yes, you read correctly, we bought a minivan, and we are PUMPED about it.
I’m not saying everyone should go buy a minivan immediately, but I am saying if you don’t have one you’re missing out. Just imagine all the cargo room, seats, comfort and gas mileage for a bigger car that you could ever want, and you’ve got a minivan. I’m telling you, we’re living large! Don’t knock it until you try it.
For the past year, our house has been almost constantly changing. We had a list of things that we wanted to update or change within the first year that we lived in our home, and we accomplished all of those big projects in December. It has been nice to just enjoy our home since we wrapped up the almost construction-life phase of our first year in our home.
Casey is the college pastor at our church, as I’ve mentioned before, and college ministry and college-age young adults are always changing. This is the biggest time in a person’s life where they change from an adolescent into an adult. That is both mind-boggling and hard to think about.
I love that we get to invest in their lives, especially at such a pivotal time for them, and be a bit of a constant in their ever-changing worlds.
With change come new experiences, new opinions, new friendships and lessons learned. I think that is why I have a deep respect for change. I believe that while it does seem to age us more rapidly than natural, change is good for the soul.
When I think about change and how uncomfortable I am in the midst of it, I think about all of the times in the Bible where problems of God’s people were far greater than mine, yet they faced the change, and God did miraculous works through them.
Some who come to mind are Naomi and Ruth. Naomi’s husband and two sons died, one to whom Ruth was married, and yet the two women faced their uncertain future together and continued to live how the Lord directed them. That’s not to say they didn’t mourn, or even feel sorry for themselves, as their story does acknowledge, but they did it nonetheless.
Esther saved her people—the Jewish people—in her land by being bold and taking hold of her future. The well-known verse “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16) is one that makes her courageous journey to becoming the queen, and her enemies meet their demise in the end.
Joseph had his world completely turned upside down many times in his life. First when his brothers sold him as a slave and told their father—who favored Joseph—that he was eaten by wild animals. Then again, when Joseph gains favor in his new land, and his master’s wife lies about him trying to take advantage of her. Time after time, again the Lord protects Joseph, and Joseph trusts that the Lord will provide.
Side note: The name Joseph, in Hebrew, means “may Jehova add,” interesting, right?
I could go on and on about the people in the Bible who remain steadfast in their faith throughout times of change, and the Lord provides or guides them through troubled waters. Often, people (me, you, people in the Bible) doubt the Lord, and we quickly see the foolishness it takes to doubt the Lord and his plans for our lives.
But what I have found to be to be true throughout my life is that when I’m most uncomfortable with change, when the Lord stretches me far outside of my comfort zone, is when He has the sweetest things across the horizon waiting for me. If only I’ll trust Him and obey.
If you’re going through incredible amounts of change right now, do your best to trust Him. The outcome might not be what you think, (i.e. my 26-year-old husband driving a minivan and loving it), but I can assure you he’s working something together for your good, and for the glory of His kingdom.