March 16, 2015
Tips on dealing with change:
I stink at change. It’s kind of amusing that I hate it so much as my life is, and always has been, so full of it!
These past few weeks, few months even, have been tumultuous.
Each day brought (brings) a door slammed in our face and a few opened windows out in the distance just far enough out of our grasp. It’s been a challenge to deal with the constant change. Part of me wants to throw a 3-year-old style tantrum; kick, stomp and yell “NO LORD!! You can’t change this on me again! I just got my brain wrapped around the LAST life altering change you threw in my lap!” It stinks sometimes… alright lets me honest, it stinks most of the time. These last 6 months in our lives, we have been a constant state of change. We’re almost expecting it by the hour these days.
It got me thinking, as were dealing with another bout of intense change, how does the Lord want us to handle this? Is this where that blind faith comes into play? Not all change is bad. It doesn’t have to be viewed as bad.
In the past two years we’ve gotten married, moved, became a family, are currently adding to our family, my husband has changed jobs, we’re learning how to be under the same roof together (your military/contractor folks will understand this), we’re constantly learning how to be together and learning how to handle all the NEW in our lives right now.
What it really seems to boil down to in life, in dealing with change, is that we need to accept it. We need to let it happen. We need to accept that change is happening in our lives and somewhat embrace the newness that is coming.
Next, we pray. We get on our knees and pray for understanding and help to accept the new. For me, these prayers end up sounding like caveman grunting. I have been so tired, fed up, exasperated and even angry at times that something else has changed last minute. It’s exhausting to come up with a new plan for life on the fly. This, however, is where trusting in the Lord (maker of the universe, hello) comes into play.
If we look at Paul’s life, in Romans, we can see that he was joyful in all these crazy circumstances. He accepted the change (good and bad) because he had this incredible faith that whatever Christ was doing in his life would be worth it. It is it always worth it isn’t it? We know that hind-site is always 20/20, and when we let go and allow God to work in our lives it’s always a blessing right? So why is it so hard to let go and let God work in our lives? (insert Queen Elsa singing “let it go” for the million and 27th time).
We measly little humans thrive on control. Being the lord of our own lives is something we crave. We love calling the shots and being the king of our own castle. Sadly, that’s not really how life, as believers, works. We are called to be submissive, to bend to HIS will, to let HIM rule our lives and be our King. It’s a constant daily, hourly, minute by minute fight against the flesh at times. When this happens, PRAY. Go boldly before the throne and ask for grace to get through this season. Cry out to the Lord for understanding and be confident that he will answer your prayers.
Cheers,
Nila
