“I am definitely not ready for this,” Tom moaned a few weeks ago when we awakened to our first frozen morning.  Winter is not his happy spot!

How different from the warm and sunny of yesterday, I thought, as I  ran out barefoot to break ice in the birds’ bath.  The birds had been pecking persistently for a drink— and several were in line for their early morning dip; they bathe and  drink in the same water 🙂 I asked them (I talk to my birds) if these temperature drops cause stress in their lives?

Change. . .

That one constant in life . . .

You would think we would be ready for it, yes, even plan for it. For much of  life I have enjoyed change, even initiated it.  I moved furniture as regularly and as often as my young granddaughters change clothes on a summer’s day.  Change brings those small daily surprises that give wonder and depth to life.

Some things we can’t change.  Can a leopard change his spots . . . ?(Jeremiah 13:23)  They are what they are, and I cannot change anything about them.   We can accept and adapt to the differences in the weather quite easily, but how does one adjust to everyday revisions and reversals that we may, or may not, understand?

One of our sons-in-law recently diagnosed with diabetes was told by his doctor when results were in, “You can keep doing what you have been doing, and I will medicate you, or you can change your life.”

Fred quickly responded, “I will change my life.”

Ninety days after making  a major change in his diet and lifestyle, cheerfully swallowing the necessary supplements Sharon, our daughter, had researched for him, Fred was told last week by his doctor, “I have never seen anyone do this without medicinal help. You are a rock star!”

You’ve heard the phrase, If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. (Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Mark Twain, Tony Robbins–don’t you wonder who really said that first.)

It’s the changes that hurt I write about this morning, the changes in life that shatter hearts and give way to fear.   I have no control over those.  I can transition with the weather, but can I change with my crises of pain? Do I believe the sun will rise tomorrow?  Or should I pull the shade and wait. . .

Tom and I were driving through the country in November and saw this scene –I could almost hear the caption “Change! Not me!”  We looked at each other, laughed , and knew we had to turn around for a picture.  Imagine that one day this tractor happened to run out of gas, or the battery died, and the farmer simply went in to dinner. Of course, he was going to fix it tomorrow. Days went by; weeks turned to years.

Can you count how many hindrances have grown around the tractor? And now, trapped and captured by the mundane happenings of life, there is no possibility for  purpose.  It is only a fixture of the past.

Change . . .

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. (George Bernard Shaw)

Some experiences, choices and consequences demand a personal change, a decision to act such as Fred made. Other events, inevitable in life and uncontrolled by us, allow us to focus on the One who is the same–day after day after day . . .

“Though the mountains give way and fall into the sea, I will not fear” . . .  My paraphrase of Psalm 46:2— I can do this; I will not be afraid.  I can face another day, even though my heart is breaking. If all things shatter and fail, if life will never be the same, I can be confident in the God who never changes.  .  .

. . . it is not easy . . .

now.