How well do you adjust to change? Do you embrace it or fight it. Do you find yourself going with the flow or wishing things were like they used to be? It’s been said that the only constant in life is change. So, if you want to learn how to make the most out of life you need to learn how to make the most out of change…because things change.
Every Labor Day weekend since I was a little boy, my mom’s family have gathered for a weekend reunion and campout. I have very found memories of these Labor Day reunions. These were times when 50-100 aunts, uncles, and cousins would come together to camp, laugh, eat, and play practical jokes.
I recently went home for Labor Day. It was the first time I had been back in many years, and everything had changed. Where before we took up a large section of the park, now we only took 1 space. Where before there were 50+ family members, now there were only 10 family members. Where before there were children everywhere, now everyone was 50 years old and older. Where before there was my mom and her 7 siblings, now there was just my mom. I could see a great fifty year tradition changing and coming to an end right before my eyes.
As I sat there staring at the campfire, I began to grieve the end of the “good old days” and all the experiences my kids and grandkids would never know.
But I quickly realized that my kids and their kids will have their own “good old days.” They will make their own memories in their own ways. Then one day, they will be looking at aging parents and they will find themselves wistfully thinking about how things change.” So I thanked God for all the good memories I had, and I thanked God that my kids would make memories of their own.
That’s the way it is. Things change. Seasons change. Years accumulate. Children grow up. Adults grow older. Things get handed down. Things get discarded. Things change.
I’m not trying to depress you. I’m trying to remind you that the goal of life is not to desperately cling to every moment, but rather to milk every moment while it’s there. Years ago, when my first child was born, I made a personal commitment to fully embrace every age and stage they went through. For the most part, I’ve been able to do that. I’m still trying to do that. This approach has helped me deflect a lot of regret as well as embrace a lot of change.
I hope to keep embracing every new age and stage of life I face…until I don’t have anymore ages or stages to embrace. Will it be easy? No. Will I like every change? No. But things change, and so will I. Change is not the enemy. It’s just how life is, and the longer you live the more change you’ll face. Think of life like a wave of the ocean…ever moving and changing. You can defy the wave. You can fight the wave. Or you can learn to surf the wave, going where it takes you, and enjoying the ride in the process.
So, surf the waves of change. When things change, learn to embrace it. After all, it’s only temporary, because…things change.
On another level…
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 speaks plainly about a life full of seasons and changes. And after talking about all these changes, verse 11, says God has “made everything beautiful in its time.” This tells us we can embrace changes as part of life, as part of the plan, and as part of our eventual good. Remember that In the midst of all the changes, we can lean on the one that will never change.
What are some difficult changes you’ve faced and how did you do it? Leave a comment and let us know.
Copyright © 2014 Bret Legg
In all honesty, the biggest changes I have faced (and continue to face) are the ones I need to make in myself. I do miss the large family gatherings that have gone by the wayside. Watching my sons grow is bittersweet, but you reminded me they are making their own memories of the “good old days” and I am blessed to be a part of it. I am trying to make a more conscious effort to savor the moments rather than take them for granted.
I have been described as someone who can just “roll with the punches” (don’t laugh) but those are just external changes. The ones I need to make inside are difficult. It is difficult to admit I need to change and hard to take those steps. Like you said, leaning on the One who will never change is the only way to make this possible. Thank you for your post.
I think internal changes are always more difficult than external changes. That’s why so many people settle for changing things around them rather than changing themselves. It’s easier.
Keep at it. IF it were easy, everyone would do it.