Driving down rolling dirt roads through the countryside in the fall is the best. Windows are open and the air is permeated with smells of woodsmoke, burning leaves, and harvesting dust swirling about. The landscapes are a riot of oranges, reds and yellows mixed with green, brown and bare branches. Fall is in full swing and after a good rainy day like today, leaves are falling fast. Fall signals the beginning of the close of the year and the coming of about five months of snow, ice and cold. Despite the fact that my workload exponentially increases during this time of year, I enjoy the changing colors, low humidity and temperate breezy days. And the sunsets have been on point lately!
I really do love summer … the beach, the warm sun, the SeaDoo… but the reality is that regardless of whether or not I want summer to end, or whether or not I finished all those warm weather projects or got to the lake one last time, change is a comin’. There is a certainty that in late September, the weather will change, and again in late November. I can protest and yell at the wind or curse the frost, but it will be a fruitless endeavor. There are definitely some things we are unable to change. And if you look up quotes about change, you will find a whole bunch of people echoing similar sentiments as poet Maya Angelou when she said, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” I can hate winter all I want, but I can’t change it. But I can change how I deal with it. (For me, it is capturing beautiful skies and exploring the lakeshore ice and snow.)
In the midst of all that is changing around us, there is ONE constant – the Father of Creation. God says, “I AM the Lord, and I do not change” (Malachi 3:6). “I am the same yesterday, today, and for eternity” (Hebrews 13:8). And by stating this, it doesn’t mean that God is dull or stuck in a rut and unwilling to change. It’s more like He is ALL things simultaneously. He is light, life, joy, peace, hope, love, laughter, awe, wonder, soft breezes and sun rays, color, sound, mystery, music, ecstasy, passion, and everything else that is good and beyond. He doesn’t have to change all the time and live in uncertainty because he can see the beginning and the end and every possible outcome of every choice before it is made. Being outside of time means that change is not a consideration for him because change has to do with the passing of time, which He does not experience. “Such knowledge is to great for me to imagine,” says the psalmist. Since God is unchanging, I am fully able to put my faith and trust in Him; knowing that though I may waver, falter or find myself unable to embrace change, He will be the One I can lean on and keep my eyes on. Solid. Consistent.
Change freaks us out sometimes. We get stuck in our routines; we like things the way they are; the familiar. When someone comes in and rocks the boat or turns the whole system upside down, we get anxious or angry. The old saying, “We’ve never done it that way before” is often indicative of how many of us operate. It’s like change causes us to rise up and get stubborn and say, “Things are fine, why do we have to change them?” But so many times, they are necessary. Like when you move furniture around in your house and find all the dust bunnies under the couch or that piece of paper that fell behind the desk that you needed two months ago; change gives us fresh perspective and allows us to sweep out the detritus of the stagnant and dusty. Change gives us impetus to look at things differently and opens our minds to other possibilities we never considered.
We had a very dated 80s style kitchen at the Camp. With wide dark pine trim, golden oak cabinets, a large island closed in with cabinets and brick walls, and a bland blue tile flooring, it was tired and needed to change. We had just finished remodeling the great room and it looked so awesome … which further made the kitchen seem desperately in need of help. Tearing down the cabinets over the island was the eye opening moment of what could be. Then down came the brick columns, reorganizing the cabinets and painting them and adding a bunch of recessed LED lights. Suddenly things were bright, open and fresh. But all of that could not have happened unless I was willing to listen with an open mind to Scott when he said, “Josh, these columns need to come down.” I’m glad I listened. The change in this room was dramatic and it changed the atmosphere and the attitudes of those who come in to use it.
So in times of change, I agree with Ms. Angelou. I need to change my attitude to align with the path my Father (who does not change) has for me. In times of change, I must be open to embrace it and listen to those who see something beyond the visible to the “what could be.” Although I may not know the plans He has for me or understand the direction He is taking me, the change he wants to work in me will result in a greater weight of glory; that change causes me to experience growth; and that change causes me to be transformed and renewed. For me, that is what I hope for.
It is so hard sometimes to find out what You mean in Your truth.
But then again to hide these things from men is Your right to do.
I could search for years trying to understand, Your mercy.
But I know nothing compares, to a moment with You.
I have given my life, my thoughts to You, my Saviour my King.You say come all you who are weary and come all who are thirsty.
Your love is everlasting, Your grace is new each day.
Your peace is what I’m asking for in my life.I won’t be afraid to change.
– Change, c 2003, Eric Ward