Life very rarely stays the same, which is a good thing. Just imagine if nothing ever changed. How boring would life be then? But often in our lives, we can be resistant
to change. Adapting to changes, rolling
with the punches, is a skill we have to learn as human beings.
Change often accompanies “milestone” life events – births,
marriages, deaths, etc. When my
grandmother died, my parents spent almost nine months in California, getting
her house ready to rent. Truckloads of
her possessions made the nearly thousand-mile trek from Santa Barbara to Salt
Lake City. We are still going through
bits of it, almost nine years later. In the
act of going through her things, it brings back memories of her life, her
mannerisms, her accent, and it brings a smile to our faces, so the change is
not all bad.
Another big milestone is on the horizon for my family. My brother will be getting married in May,
and moving out of our family home. He’s
moved out before, when he went to college and then vocational school, but it
wasn’t permanent. There is a significant
age gap between us, and to me, he’s always been my big brother, across the hall
or just downstairs. I can always depend
on him to be there for me and for our parents.
Now, he will still be “there,” just not physically. Again, this change won’t be all bad – I get a
sister out of it, after all – but it will still be difficult.
Life will go on. We
will adapt. And we will find a new
normal.
When things change in your life, when you find it difficult
to accept change, ask yourself: How am I
going to grow because of this change?
How can I be joyful through this change?
Do I need God’s help? Have I
asked for it?
