If there’s one thing I am constantly needing to work on, it’s dealing with change.
In the last year or so, I have really been working to embrace change with an arms wide open and a free-spirited mentality. You know those kind of people that just seem so worry free & believe every moment of the day that it’s all going to workout? That’s what I’m going for.
The only problem is that I very much have a type-A personality and very much like an orderly, structured, scheduled, and planned life. Boy, oh boy, though have I realized that learning to deal with change– and learning to deal with it well — can create even more abundance & growth & fun & joy throughout all this craziness we call life.
Let me tell you a little story. Just over a year ago, I was eighteen years old, fresh outta high school, ready for college & all the newness that was to come. And while I was so excited for all of the things to come, I had also lived at home for my entire life & had never moved out of Chicago suburbia. This meant a whole lot of change was to come; change that I could not possibly prepare myself for.
My freshman year of college was absolutely amazing in more ways than I can even count. I have a blog post here all about it. But if there was one specific area God was working on inside of me, it was my ability to embrace His plan for my life even when I so badly just wanted to be able to predict every detail of my future.
Have you ever been there? In that place of wanting to trust that there is an incredible plan for your life that involves lots of change & highs & lows & unexpected twists and turns and yet wanting to control the changes?
Maybe you’ve experienced a season in your life where a lot of change happened. You transferred schools, moved to a new place, met the love of your life, experienced the death of a family member, or even just felt like you were growing & changing faster than you could’ve ever imagined. Maybe you’re in this season right now. Whichever the case, I want to encourage you to lean into the discomfort of embracing change. Tackle it head on. Leaning away from change has never served me well, and I imagine it won’t serve you well either. Leaning away is what causes us to miss the true benefit of change: the ability to transition through seasons of life with a high level of trust that it’s all going to work out. It’s what allows us to feel the sadness of letting go of what was while also being excited & grateful for what is to come.
I truly believe it is in some of the seasons that involve the most change that we grow the most, learn the most, and become more and more the person our Creator made us to be. And while change often means that the plan I thought was best for me may not be the reality of what is to come, I am learning that its signifies an event better plan in store. Lean into the change, recognize the discomfort of what was & embrace the excitement of what is to come & I promise you, the fear that may have used to come from this small six letter word will surely fade and trust for the future in store will replace it.
