Alright…..Brace yourself for this blog. It goes against all I once believed and felt back in October when I left for this race. So remember my blog Changes….Transitions…..Good Byes. I have some new thoughts on this topic. Here goes……
I always viewed change as a bad thing. I associated it with leaving people behind, having to give up things I loved or held dear, or being forced into a new situation that was uncomfortable.
When I left in October change meant leaving Kate, Sarah, Merk and Chris behind without knowing when I would talk to them next. It meant not being around for Andy or Sar during some big transitions in their life. It meant putting my parents in positions where they would worry about me everyday. It meant giving up my job, my car, and my passions. It meant making an 11 month commitment to live with 6 people I had only just met and being in community I had never known.
Change
The act or instance of making or becoming different.
However over these past 6 months my view of change has slowly been altered. Little by little my view of change is no longer as negative as it once was. Yes, there were periods of change that were still hard but I now seek for change. Change is now an act I strive for, I seek it out. I can’t seem to get enough of it. I found a different definition that I now like even better.
Change
A new or refreshingly different experience.
Change is good, healthy, and is required in our everyday life. Without change we go through life doing the same thing, living the same life and we risk becoming stagnant, apathetic, and we sometimes lose that excitement for life. But there is one comfort that I hold onto in all changes and that is that the Lord will never change. He is the one constant that I can always hold onto.
James1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Malachi 3:6 “I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed”
Now I can look at these changes in my life as a good thing. These are changes that will grow me, something I was not able to do back in October. Now I know that by leaving Kate, Sarah, Merk and Chris my relationships with them will only be stronger when I return. My desire to pursue these relationships only grows as I am away. I am able to pray for Andy and Sar when I would otherwise just pick up the phone to talk to them. I have been able to watch my parents grow in their reliance on the Lord during this time that I have been away. Their strength has been a encouragement to me as well. I appreciate and love them more now then I ever have. My job, and car, and passions mean nothing if they are not being used for the glory of the Lord. Plus they will be there when I get back. And this community is how we as Christians are supposed to live. As hard as it may be sometimes.
We have had many changes this month as well. We left our ministry site in Bukit Mertajam to return and work with Mary and Greg’s teams here on Penang island for the last week of our ministry here in Malaysia. We leave again on the 31st for Cambodia, our last country here in Asia.
I look forward to returning home because I know the possibilities are endless. My dreams have never been bigger and I look forward to the changes that will take place in my life. I actually am now scared of going home to do the same thing day in and day out. I long for excitement and change and transitions. Because this is when I feel most alive, when I am challenged and forced out of my comfort zone.
Until Next Time
Annalisa
