Adapt to Change - 0

Years ago, BC (before children), I worked at a large bank in town. Every year we would have our annual review, which consisted of the usual laundry list of items you are ranked from 0-5 in (0 being the lowest rank, 5 being the highest), as well as several areas for written criticism or praise. I worked for a lady who happened to like me - good for me. My friend, however, was not so fortunate. I will never forget after my friend had her review. It was a scathing one, to say the least, but I will never forget one thing that really irked her. One of the categories we were ranked on was "adapt to change". She showed me her review and next to this category was a big, fat zero. "A zero!" she exclaimed. "What in the world is that supposed to mean! I can't adapt AT ALL to change? That's total crap!" Words were changed and this has been summarized to protect the innocent. This review hurt my friend a lot, but over the years it has become a joke between us. If she's not liking something I will tell her "you need to adapt to change". Or if she's upset over something she'll quip "well, you know, I DID get a zero on adapt to change..." The truth be known, if I were to get this review today I would probably get a zero as well. Things in my life are changing around me - family, housing, church. Some of these things I can't control, and that upsets me. I am a control freak by nature, so when I see changes going on at my church, I want to say "hey wait, you didn't ask for my opinion!". When I see my children caring less and less about what I think about something, I want to scream " You have to listen to me, I gave birth to you, see the scar!" Some of the things in my life I can control, but I worry about the decision. Is this the right time to buy a house? Should we tighten our finances even further? The truth of the matter is, change is constant. Whether you have control over it or not, it's going to happen. You can't always control what happens around you - job loss, children's actions (God knows that's true!), school or church decisions, but you can control how you are going to respond. Am I going to hold on to the security of what is safe - what I am used to? Am I going to kick and scream like a child that I am not getting my way - how could the Lord do this to us? Or am I going to trust the Lord and pray for his wisdom and guidance for myself and those around me? I admit, I fail so many times in this area. Sometimes my pride gets in the way and my first reaction is to get upset or panic. I have always resisted change. But in all honesty, the changes that the Lord has allowed in my life have always been for my benefit. As hard as they were to deal with, I wouldn't give anything in the world for the impact they made on my life. God is like that you know. He's not as concerned about our comfort level as he is our relationship with Him. Rarely do we grow without moving or being challenged in some way. Rarely are we on our knees more than when we feel the greatest need for him during times of uncertainty. So to these changes that are happening in my life, I pray that I will be ready. I know who holds the future and I trust him. I know he will guide me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. I pray he will forgive me for my heart not being right; for resisting change; for being pessimistic and negative instead of positive and joyful. May the Lord continue to guide me, and those around me, through these decisions. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8