Change

It has been quite the week.

I’ve prided myself on my little bit of ‘stuff’ but oh man do I still have too much. The process of moving seems never-ending and there is more to come. My youngest  and I are tucked in at my folks place, but Tuesday will find us on the last leg of our transition as we head to one of the gulf islands here in British Columbia.

A few days breather in-between isn’t hurting us one bit.

Change takes work. It doesn’t happen all on its own. This I know.

The kinds of change required to take us into new spheres and open up new opportunities must be engaged and invested in. It is a LOT of work.

Whether the change is an external one, or an internal shift of heart and soul, it is still hard work.

In fact the hardest work, it might be argued, is the internal work required to ‘keep up’ with our external changes.

Thank-fully the sun rises and shines no matter our process and it reminds us that there are constancies in this life. There is much to count on as we go forward into change.

Most of all, we must always remember that we take ourselves with us. External changes do not change who we are.

Years back I did a move upon which I put my hopes and dreams of a better life, better relationships, less stress, and more cohesion.

What I forgot, or didn’t fully realize at the time, is that I was taking me with me. The others on that move were taking themselves too.

It was a disaster. Instead of cohesion I found chaos. Instead of better relationships I found brokenness and fear and personal disaster.

A move, a change meant to bring about good things, launched years of very bad.

We weren’t solid, didn’t have character, wanted a quick way out of relational and life difficulty. No wonder it didn’t work.

There is no other way to life and good things than the hard work required to stay the course, developing depth of character doesn’t just happen. We are never magically mature.

This move, this time, has no hopes pinned on it. This time, this move, my hopes are pinned on the Lord. There are parts of this transition that I am fully confident in, and parts that I’ve really no idea how it may turn out.

But I do know that I take my Lord, and I take my more mature self (thank God) and with the Lord’s orchestration of my days I suspect these new things around the corner will be for blessing.

This time I am in sync with the Lord’s plan for my life and not my own. It’s already working out so much better.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11