Change Happens

Its been over a week since I've blogged and so as I logged in to write about some quirky little things the kids have done and said recently I was shocked, dismayed and uncomfortable by what I saw on my screen. Blogger changed their format. The fonts are different, the layout is weird and everything is unfamiliar ... I hate it.

While I mumbled and fumed about these dumb and unnecessary changes I was reminded of the many conversations I've had recently surrounding change; both the word and the reality.

Some people see change as exciting and refreshing but the vast majority of people dislike change. It makes them uncomfortable, insecure and out of balance. To many people, change is the signal for impending doom; its the starting line for chaos and an open door invitation for every bad thing to walk right in. Change is bad. Status quo is good; its safe, familiar and predictable ... everything change is not.

I live in a house where change is the enemy for everyone but me. Mr. Awesome and the kids have a really hard time with change; even the small stuff like changing the pictures that hang in the living room make some members of this Random Family cringed and squirm. Whenever change is necessary we have to have a lot of conversation about it, why we are making the change and all the good that will come from it. The kids will squawk and complain and we will try to quell their fears but the time comes when the conversation has to stop and action must be taken.

And you know what? Everyone survives the changes and most of the time they grow to like them!

Change is like everything else in life, how you think about it influences how you feel about it and ultimately how you deal with it. If you think change is a bad thing then you will feel insecure whenever you are required to change and will probably experience only the negative side to whatever change is taking place. You will create the situation you dread.

What if you look at change as an opportunity to grow, mature and experience something new? What if you saw change as an open door to endless wonderful possibilities? What if change wasn't change but a step forward?

I have experienced a lot of change in the past two years; new town, new home, new friends, new church, new body. Some of the changes are ones I planned and orchestrated, others I just had to roll with. One thing In learned very early on is that if I can find one positive thing to hold on to during a time of change, it will act like a magnet and draw other good things to it.

For instance, while my body is healing my energy level has changed, as in some days I have no energy. At first this really annoyed me (and to be honest, some days it still really annoys me) but in being forced to be still I have had time to think about things, like seriously think about who I am, what my life is about and what I want for my family. I have had time to read some amazing books and best of all I have had time to talk with people, really connect with some amazing people. In this time I have grown and matured in ways I wouldn't have had I not been forced to change.

All I am saying in this rambling post is that change is going to happen, you have no choice sometimes, but you can either be the master of it by embracing it, celebrating it and growing with it or you can be a slave of it by feeling its burden and collapsing under its weight.

You choose.

The only difference between a rut and a grave is their dimensions. ~Ellen Glasgow