My Ipod Switched

Almost every month now my team has been different. A person added, team leader change, team member leaves, leader gets raised to squad leader, whole team switches, then a team member switch…
 
I felt a little unsettled.
 
I adjusted to most of the changes, welcomed them, even. It offered a chance for me to be flexible, to get to know new people, to understand the effects even one person possesses on the dynamics of a group.
 
Most of the changes I could foresee, but this last team member switch rocked me. I was finally feeling settled, finding my place, connecting, and investing. I thought my team and I were in for the long haul.
 
The switch felt like a shove backward. How am I supposed to get to know people if they kept leaving? I desired to know people, and more than that, I desired to be known.
 
It unnerved me to realize that authorities had the power to keep switching my surroundings, and that left me powerless. Or so I thought.
 
I didn’t have the power to stop my circumstances from changing, but I had the power to choose how I responded. With every change, a choice was given.
 
The choice to choose positivity or be defeated…
The choice to grieve the old and embrace the new…
The choice to look beyond my perspective and see the whole picture…
The choice to learn…
                        And the choice to grow or remain stagnant.
 
I take change personally. My first reaction is to think about how the change affects my life. Many others are involved, though. Change never affects only me.
 
Life is meant to change, and we are meant to notice. For me, I can’t sleep with my ipod. Not because the music keeps me up, but rather the silence while the song switches wakes me up. My brain tunes into the transition, and it calls me to attention because change requires action.
 
The action we choose to take is what makes the difference. The important decision has nothing to do with the change and everything to do with our response.
 
Change can bring beauty. Change is a challenge to become someone different. To not let circumstances reign over us but rather let God reign over our circumstances and grow to look more like Him.