Embracing Change....

Who likes change? Like REALLY likes change?

I'll wait.....

 I'm not talking about changing what brand dish soap you use or going from one-ply to two-ply (although that's definitely a change I recommend if you're not there yet). I'm talking about big changes. Changes that put us outside of our normal day to day routine. Changes that can challenge our character and sometimes bring out a side of us we didn't know existed.....

I think I might see one or two hands out there.

The fact is that MOST of us don't like change! We like our routine. It's comfortable. It puts us in a position to know what to expect and we like that. Going outside of our normal day to day can be scary. Especially if the change is huge! But what is it about change that makes us anxious or afraid? It's the fact that we are no longer in control! We like controlling what happens in our lives! Because for the most part we can control what happens in our lives. But what happens when the opportunity to make a change comes along and it's an opportunity for a GOOD change? Will we be more inclined to go with it, or will we still run from it in fear of the unknown?

I'll tell you, I don't like change! Big change anyway! I'm cool with changing up the Chinese restaurant that we typically frequent and I'm also cool with trying out a new shade of eye shadow. Those are FUN changes!

How bout moving clear across the world right after you get married? Or moving every few years and having to change jobs and make new friends and find a new church family? SCARY! Sometimes God has a funny way of putting us in positions to build our characters. So He brought a man into my life 10 years ago who was an active duty soldier in the U.S. Air Force. In the last 8 years I've moved from Idaho, to England, back to Idaho for a few months, and now to Florida. I've had 5 different jobs in that 8 years where before that I'd been at the same job for 6 years! I've fallen in love with new friends and I've said goodbye to more friends than I like to think about. Sure, I keep in contact with them virtually, but I can't hug them and laugh with them in person. I've learned how to drive on the left-hand side of the road and learned that the "boot" of a car is actually the "trunk". And now I've learned what true humidity is. I've become a vegetarian. I've gone from gym rat to at-home workout queen. So many changes!!!!! Some of them forced, some of them chosen.

So how do you learn to embrace change when you hate change? You do this by accepting the fact that some change makes you BETTER! Some change is a way for you to grow and to develop into the person you're meant to be. Some change will put you in a position to be a blessing to someone else that you might eventually come into contact with.

Want to start working out but you're scared to do it because you've grown accustomed to your inactive lifestyle and you're afraid of what people will think and how you will make it happen Do it anyway! This is a good change! Want to start eating healthier but don't know where to start? Instead of cowering away from the opportunity, embrace it..... start googling recipes, searching pinterest, talking to people around you who you know eat healthy.....just start doing it! Don't procrastinate the change because you'll forever find an excuse to not do it! Some changes are forced upon us and we can't do anything about that. Some changes are put in our path and we can choose them. Both kinds of changes can be exciting if we look at them in the right light. Think of change as a way to experience a new part of life that you have experienced before! Pray about it! Be patient through the process! Trust that you will get through this moment of discomfort and this CHANGE will one day just become part of your routine! I no longer think about my daily routine I had in Idaho, or in England. I think about my daily routine I have here, in Florida. This change wasn't easy and I didn't want to do it, but it was out of my control. So I embraced it, was patient with it, found things daily that excited me about the change, and now I LOVE Florida. I never want to leave.

Yes, change is scary! But if we never go through seasons of change then we'll never grow! So embrace the change that you're facing right now. Even if you haven't acted on it yet. If it's a good change and it will benefit you, I challenge you to grab it by the horns and make it yours. Own it! Pretty soon that change will become part of your day to day routine and you'll be stronger and more capable of taking on the next challenge of change that will come your way!