The Challenge of Change

Change is often an unwelcome visitor. It invades our lives and steals hope. It takes our plans and decimates them. It pulls the road out from under our feet and causes us to stumble. Change is a constant; an accepted part of our existence that tests our strength and toys with our joy.

As I toured the gulf coast of Mississippi I came face-to-face with the skeletal remains of unrealized dreams. In 2005 Change was a destructive force that devoured lives as the violence of Hurricane Katrina ripped the roofs from buildings and forever transformed the way thousands of people thought about life.

While in Biloxi I reconnected with a friend from high school. As her family shared their hospitality, she invited me into her world where an angry hurricane had roared through the family's home and forever altered the direction of their lives. It was not a story of loss, nor was it a journey into self-pity. It was an enlightening introduction to the inner strength of humanity.

My friend spoke about the power of choice. The decision to fight for their future rather than crying over the past. They chose to wade through the muck and mess rather than wading through the sorrow over what was lost. They chose to dig deep into their hearts and find the strength necessary to move forward. They chose to learn, to grow, and to face the pain so that they could face tomorrow once again on dry ground.

I learned so much that day. Not just about my friend and her amazing strength, but about the ability of humanity to overcome the disastrous force of Change. I learned how the right perspective can motivate even the most broken spirit to move forward.

Helen Keller once said that the world is full of suffering, but it is also full of overcoming. Those that survive difficult times are proof of Helen's assertion. We all face Change...some of it good, some of it painful. We all have to decide how we are going to deal with Change, how we are going to move forward and move on. We have to decide if we are going to fight for tomorrow, or spend our time mourning yesterday.

We are all different and view the world differently. Every experience in our past impacted us, changed us and morphed us into the person we are today. Every time suffering enters into our life we have a choice in how how are going to face it. We can choose to learn from it and grow from it; allow it to form us into a better version of ourselves.

I know that it isn't always an easy choice to move forward. I know that pain can hit so hard that our will to live wavers and we long to give into the ache. The next time that Change threatens your dreams, I pray that you can find the strength within yourself to move towards tomorrow and rebuild your world.

If you need a helping hand or a shoulder to lean on...give me a call. I can't promise that things will work out as you want them, but I can promise that things will work out because we are created by and watched over by a loving God who will never let us go. I know that it's hard to imagine that there is a caring God when we face difficult times, but He is there and He wants the best for you. He gave you friends to lean on and people who believe in you. Just give me a call and I will remind you just how strong how you can be and how much He loves you.

(Special thanks to Bianca for sharing her inspiring spirit with me)