Change has been on my mind a lot lately. Maybe it’s because I am living in the midst of it on a daily bases. As I blogged yesterday, change is a fact of life. While it can be painful, seasons of intense change can unveil radiant inner beauty if we surrender our lives to the Author of change.
For no other reason than to stir-up some inner thoughts, this morning I asked myself, “What would happen if I tried to resist this season of change?” What if I try to ignore this force, take control, and try to stay planted right where I am? Could I resist change?
An image immediately popped into mind that brought a smile to my face. Imagine a skinny 9th grade girl – me – getting completely leveled by a gigantic wave of salt water. Let me explain. I grew up swimming in the lake, so I am pretty fearless when it comes to the water. But, being from Iowa, it wasn’t until I was 14 that I had the opportunity to swim in the ocean. My first experience was in the Pacific Ocean at Newport Beach. I was so eager to go boogie boarding that I ignorantly raced into the water after our chaperone tried to warn us: “To be careful. The ocean is a lot stronger than it appears!”
I swam out a few meters and braced myself for the first wave that came my way. I quickly learned that one does not try to stand strong in
the face of a wave. I was knocked down…water shot up my nose…I swallowed about a gallon of burning salt water…and I about lost both my contacts! It was quite the site, I’m sure. I was a bit shaken, but not defeated. It took me a few more rounds of being pummeled by the waves until I started to change my strategy. If I was flexible and learned to move with the waves, they actually aided me and helped to guide my boogie board. As I learned to adjust and adapt to my surroundings, my boogie boarding skills improved dramatically. (Maybe someday I’ll graduate to surfing!)
It seems that the more I tried to resists the wave, the more it “had its way with me”.
I think this is similar to change. Think of change as waves in the ocean. It will definitely have an impact on me whether I try to resist it or if I learn to embrace it. In one instance, I may come out a bit bruised and beaten, and in the other, I may flourish as I learn to adapt.
So, either way, I guess change is inevitable – whether we graciously let it shape us and mature us as a person, or if it beat’s us up in the process. I’m sure I will receive plenty of bruises over this next year. I pray that these bruises will serve as a small sacrifice as I learn what it means to live a life of total surrender. It may hurt along the way, but who ever said change was painless.
