Move towards the joy....

Change.

What emotions does that word evoke for you?  Is it opportunity?  Or is it dread?  Does it open up vistas in your mind, a sense of hopefulness?  Or does it overwhelm you with fear and a sense of instability?

By definition, change is the act of making or becoming something different.  To change, then, one must give something up in order to become something else.  We must admit that we are not a completed work of humanity, but merely a project, partially finished.

It is easy to embrace change for others.  It is obvious when someone is in a bad relationship, needs to lose weight, should stop bad habits or maybe get a new job.  It is usually pretty easy to identify when an elderly relative needs to change to assisted living or a nursing home because they can no longer care for themselves.  We wonder to ourselves that they don't see the need, while ignoring the looming changes that are obviously needed in our own lives.

Real change, significant change, substantial change, is difficult.  It requires us to upend our current direction and follow a new path that is unfamiliar and possibly filled with hidden pitfalls.  There is nothing embarrassing about being afraid in those circumstances.  Any reasonable person would have trepidation.

But without change, life is stagnant and eventually dies.  Nothing stays the same forever.  Some changes are life changing, some are merely a distraction.  People move more frequently than ever, even to different parts of the country.  Television shows come and go.  Jobs change, technology changes, cars change, hair styles change, relationships change.  We lose touch with people from long ago while building up relationships with those close at hand.  People are married, people are born, people die.  Nothing remains static in this world, even if we remain stuck in our own rut for awhile.

Whenever we go somewhere new, we need directions.  Originally, people followed trails, and directions were given in the form of markers indicating which way to go.  It was rough and rudimentary, and people got lost often, sometimes with deadly consequences.  That caused a change, with improvements in method, so directions were more specific.  Eventually, we moved on to paper maps, which allowed us an overview and a much more clear sense of where we were headed.  Then GPS came along, and we can see the overview, or we can get directions turn by turn, giving us as much, or as little, information as we desire.  Each one of these improvements was a change, and there were people who embraced it, while there were people who were satisfied with the old ways and resisted.

It may seem silly to us now, looking back with the knowledge of hindsight, to have resisted maps or GPS, each in their turn, but people did.  Because fear held them in place as the world moved on around them.

The interesting thing about GPS, however, is that most of us go with the turn by turn, trusting that piece of electronic technology to get us where we need to be, without even looking at where we are going in any depth.  We count on the GPS to know more than we do, and we follow it, even as it takes us through weird turns which, if we just looked at the overview, we would easily see were unnecessary.  Sometimes it is better to look at the forest, but human beings tend to focus on the trees.

In a world awash with change, God is always leading.  In Proverbs 3:5-6 we read,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.  (Good News Translation)

Although it is human to be afraid of change, God has the overview.  He sees the forest and he sees the trees.  He knows the correct path, and if we follow his will, we will end up where we are intended to be.

Our world today is filled with fear.  Change is coming, whether we resist it or embrace it, and things will not be the same.  So it has always been, with each new generation gradually changing how things are done, what expectations we hold, who is in charge of everything from the workplace to the home to the government.  As older people retire, younger people become the boss and the workplace inevitably changes.  Parents go from being in charge to being taken charge of by their children, and everything is different.  The GPS shows a different destination than we expected, and it is scary, wondering how we will fit into the new situation in which we find ourselves.

The thing I most admire about some of the super elderly people I know is their ability to embrace change.  After a lifetime of experience, I think they know, better than most, that change is inevitable, and they don't resist the way younger people do.  Instead, they look for the opportunity to make the changes work for them, to provide interest in their lives, to continue learning, to reach out and stay connected with the world, even as it moves away from what is familiar.  A 90 year old sending photos with a cell phone to a grandchild hundreds of miles away is a positive testament to the power of change, and I find it encouraging as I age myself.  I have a good roadmap to follow, and a God who has promised to show me the way.

Embrace the change, with God in the lead.  You will be surprised where you end up, because God's plan is always greater than our limited vision allows.  It is a new year, and a new opportunity.  Give up fear and move towards the joy.

Change.