Change is all around us; how can we not notice it! It was just a few weeks ago that Alabama was experiencing the longest and most snow filled winter I have ever seen. And now, I look out the windows of my home and see green trees and sunshine everywhere! I can literally watch the changes happen in the landscape day to day. The pollen in the air today is also proof of change. This ugly substance that creeps up on us from who knows where will soon, and all of a sudden, bring incredible flowers of vibrant colors right before our eyes (but not before it swells up my face and gives us all a few weeks of sinus disturbance).
I even notice change as I look around this blog page. Take my picture at the top for instance; Evan and I look nothing like we did on our wedding day. In our two years of marriage we have managed to make complete changes to our looks to the point that we have been asked if we are in a witness protection plan (and don't ask. If I told you, I'de have to kill you). Neither of us were necessarily dissatisfied with our looks but we longed for something different from our norm. You would have thought I had severed a leg the way some people acted when I went from blonde to cherry coke but it was exciting for me.
So, why is change such a big deal? Why is everyone so afraid to take a new step, do something different or make a transformation? I happen to love change but frequently find folks who do not come along with me in that line of thinking. I see where change can be scary but it can be so rewarding to take the leap and see what the next season holds.
As I look around and witness the animals return from hiding, the trees starting their bloom and as my hair gets dyed more often, I still can't help but think that changing isn't so bad. It was God who created change after all. It is He who gives us the 4 seasons. It is God who makes it warm after it has been so cold and cold after it has been so warm. It is our creator who gives us both the snow of winter and the sun of summer. If God is in the change, then why be afraid to change ourselves? I don't mean just our hair color but our outlook on life, the place we are, our take on a situation, and dare I say, our attitude for the uncontrollable changes around us as well.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has gone; the new has come!"
I am in Christ and he has made me new! Exciting right?
The trees are of Christ and they are budding to life before my eyes!
You can be in Christ and become something new and more beautiful than ever imagined!
Also, Matthew 6:26 says, "Look at the birds of the sky; they don't sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth more than they?"
If God will take care of the birds in the air, who are out singing their praises as I type this by the way, will He not surely take care of us as we go through change? I think He will!
So go ahead, see what changes God has in store for you. See what attitudes can be transformed and what appreciation needs to be given. Enjoy the spring as it blooms around you and be a new creation yourself! I think I'll give it a shot too!
Denali experiencing the change of season for the first time.
Before and After
