By: Mae Lewis
Change is not your enemy.
I have noticed that many people do not like change. They often complain about “the good old days” and spend a lot of energy reminiscing and trying to return to a former state of imagined bliss. They are highly resistant to changes, and will fight, argue, plead, and weep over the changes of life.
There is nothing wrong with taking a trip down memory lane, but ignorance is revealed in someone who is unwilling to let go of the past, or who fights to hang on to a dead past. Some of us refuse to acknowledge that changes happen.
To be human means to live in change. From the time you are born, your body is changing, always, until the day that you die. It is never the same on any given day.
The same can be said of the entire universe. Seasons come and go. Plants grow, bear fruit, and die. Animals grow, give birth, and die. Everywhere we look, we see a cycle of life and death, of change, and of transformation.
Why, then, are so many of us resistant to change? If change is a fundamental law of the universe, why do so many of us fight it? Change is and can be uncomfortable, scary even. Some changes are terrible, but it is an unreasonable expectation to assume that you won’t lose a loved one or face tragedy in your life. Nothing lasts forever, and death comes to us all.
I know many who are so affected by the death of a loved one that they become stuck in their grief, and are never able to move on. I heard Billy Graham say once, “War does not increase death.” This may seem an obvious statement, but it drives home the point that we will all die, and we cannot escape it. This is not an attempt to diminish anyone’s grief. Grief is real, and some changes must be grieved.
But no real transformation, no real LIFE can happen without change. If we are willing to embrace change, we will find growth and abundance.
I’ve talked before about the law of entropy: Everything is in a constant state of decay unless some external force of energy is applied. Decay itself is change, and keeping something from decay involves change. We cannot avoid change. Problems will always arise, and they must be fixed.
You can’t fix problems in your life while avoiding the discomfort of change. It’s logically impossible. Yes, there will be pain, but there is pain in every transformative process.
“Wisdom and maturity come from facing pain and learning from it…. Immature people…don’t have the willingness to experience the pain that leads to authentic wisdom.” – Pia Mellody.
Instead of resisting the discomfort of change, allow it to unfold and observe the beauty, or the sadness of the transformation. Learn from it. Allow it to CHANGE YOU. Circumstances may not turn out the way you expect, or want them to, but that’s okay. If you can learn to embrace change and accept it, you will start looking for the beauty and the lesson in each uncomfortable situation.
C.S. Lewis, in writing about the transformative goal of the Christian life, said: “It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg.”
You cannot learn to fly if you remain in your shell. You will not experience the life, beauty, and wonder of the world if you are resistant to change. Change can become the greatest teacher in your life, if you are willing to learn from it.
Let change be your friend. Learning to embrace change, good and bad, will result in growth and beauty in your life that you could not have dreamed of. You will find yourself to be a healthier, stronger person, and more capable of handling the storms and setbacks of life. You will grow in wisdom and in inner strength, achieving an understanding and appreciation that many will never learn. You may even find yourself helping others to weather the storms of life, and you will become a force of change for good and beauty in the world.
By: Mae Lewis
April 19, 2024
