Change

Something you should know about me: I cannot stand change.  If my plan gets messed up or interruptions charge into my day, my attitude tends to go downhill.  Fast.  Why is that?  Why is it that I deal so negatively with change?  Is it because I still want my life to be my own and not have to give it completely to God?  Is it because I don't view interruptions as part of God's plan?  Sometimes He wants to get my attention and tries to use detours.  I have seen my aunt and my dad accept changes in plan and use them to show someone Jesus' love.  Me, I still doggedly try to get all my boxes checked in the order and time I want them.  Sometimes, life is not going to go the way we planned.  Actually, a lot of the time life doesn't go the way we planned.  And I want to be the example like my aunt was.  Change doesn't have to be bad.  Change is an opportunity to choose the right desicion.

One of our friends moved recently and I was really sad when she left.  All I could think about was how horrible and disappointing it was that they had to leave and how much we were going to miss them.  I'm sure she felt the same way.  I'm sure she was sad about leaving as well.  But I don't think I ever heard her complain about it or mope about how bad it was.  She continued to smile and encourage and show Jesus' love through her behavior.  If that had been me, the whole world would've probably known how disgusted I was that I had to leave my friends and home.

Change.  Same problem, different reactions.  Jesus said to "trust in the Lord . . . and lean not on you own understanding."   Also, "a joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones."  In Bright Lights, our speaker spoke on complaining and how it begins with envy.  Envy becomes discontentment and then we complain about our circumstances.  If we would just cut envy off as soon as it peeks out of the ground, then there wouldn't be any negative thoughts or feelings of discontentment.  We can look at change positively, but it requires the mindset of Jesus.  And when we are armed with the mindset of Jesus, we can be an example like my aunt and friend were to me.