Change is Difficult – No Matter How You Dress It Up

Recently, I have found myself in the midst of many life changes – some good; some difficult; some sad; some – well, just different!  I would love to be able to say to you that I have handled each one with grace, with a smile on my face, with courage and determination.  Rather, I must admit that some have been just plain hard….and I haven’t always been graceful or smiley or thankful.

In fact, I have (maybe without even realizing it) thought I could control the change(s) and influenced the outcome.  Sometimes, truth be told, God does put me in a position to do exactly that.  I am asked for input, allowed to give my ‘two cents,’ listened to and have the opportunity to affect the end results.

At other times, however, I’m, well, just given the opportunity to grow through the changes that happen around me.  Some of those changes – maybe all of them – involve some kind of loss, and loss produces grief.   We all know at least some of the elements of grief – disappointment, hurt, anger, sadness, pain, even suffering, shock, resolution, acceptance --- and wouldn’t it be nice if these all happened in some kind of orderly fashion, a steady pattern of grieving where once we got through one phase we could move onto the next, never having to look back or have a ‘do-over’ of a particular piece of the grieving process.  Grief just doesn’t happen like that – we go in an out and circle back around through emotions and struggles.  You have heard me say more than once – GRIEF TAKES AS LONG AS IT TAKES! – even the grief that comes about due to change in our lives.

So, because God is a God of new beginnings, may He give us the strength, the help and the grace to accept the changes He allows to come into our lives and to do so in such a way that brings honor to Him and growth to us.