As The World Turns

Our family went to an event last night called "Change is Good" where kids collected spare change to donate to Community Partners of Dallas, an organization who greatly supplements the needs of children in foster care in the Dallas area. What an outstanding event!

Spare change, donated to those in need, is definitely good. But as I thought about it, I wondered if we could really say that Change is categorically good?

Change can be hard.
Change can be slow.
Sometimes we can't keep up with Change.
Our bodies Change.
He's Changed.
Seasons Change.
Change for Change's sake.
Change the rules.
Change of address.
Change in plans.
Everything has Changed.

The only thing that remains the same about Change is that Change is inevitable.

My eldest neice and I went to a conference at the American Airlines Center last weekend, packed with 10,000 teen-ish aged girls. Talk about change. These girls are changing faster than they can say their names. Their friends change. Their boyfriends change. They change their clothes more than they brush their teeth. I cringe to think about the teen-ish years of life -- they are just plain difficult. The only way to weather them is to be comfortable in your own skin. Good luck!

As I was giving quiet, only-in-my-brain sympathy for these girls and their season of life, I stopped in my tracks to realize that -- wait a minute -- my life is in a crazy season of change too. Frighteningly, it's almost like the teen years again, sans the acne. But seriously, my body is changing. A lot of my friends have changed boyfriends (or husbands...). We have friends who left the neighborhood to downsize. We have friends who left the neighborhood to upsize. My pants have gone up a size. Co-workers change. My role as a Mom changes every year as ChellBell grows. And the only way to weather this is to be comfortable in my own skin. Good luck!

Sadly (or maybe not) we can't avoid change. We want to label things categorically "good" or categorically "bad", but who can say that the uphill climb of today won't lead to the downhill coast of tomorrow? Or that the difficult change of today won't lead to the biggest blessing of your life? We can only label Change as Change. It's the scenery of our journey, it's the friends we meet, it's the moments we remember, it's the dreams we hope will come true. They all require Change.

So grab your camera. Take lots of pictures of life as you live it. Hold your breath during the hard stuff (because this too shall pass), and love every ounce out of the good stuff (because this too shall pass). Hang on to God during it all, because He's the only One who will never Change.