Life Changes

Life Changes

   Life Changes. But I wouldn’t change it for the world.

   Thomas Rhett wrote a song with those exact words. Telling us how he went from a nobody in a college dorm room, to a country music star, married to the girl of his dreams. It seemed crazy to him that something like this could actually happen. But that’s how it is for all of us, isn’t it? We think back on how our life used to be and sometimes wonder how we got to where we are now. That’s definitely true for me. More has changed for me in the past two years than I actually thought possible.

   I went from being the country hick girl who lived 25 miles from the nearest town, to living in the middle of a town with over 60,000 people. I went from being 3 minutes away from my best friend to being 1,030.2 minutes away from my best friend. I went from being a part of a very old church (no offense of course) to being part of a baby church that has only been around for about 3 years. I went from knowing almost every person within my little community (heck, I was related to half of them!) to barely even knowing the person I was going to be living with! I went from hating running to running my first 5k and having a blast. I went from a “perfect” little friend group to more-often-than-not, not knowing if I was actually going to make any new friends. I went from not really thinking I had a purpose in life to realizing that nothing has made more sense for my life than becoming a police officer. I went from basically hating school and having to work pretty hard for good grades to literally loving 3-hour classes and getting the best grades of my life. And that’s not even the half of it.

   Now, let me tell you, change is not an easy thing. I think that’s something we all know, but more often than not, try to deny. We don’t want people to see us struggling with the inevitable. See, change is this word that we all know is coming, in most areas of our life. Maybe more when we’re young; I can’t say for sure, I honestly don’t have much experience. But see, when you’re sixteen, you know that in the near future, life is going to change. You probably have no idea how or exactly when, but you know that it’s coming. And even though you know this, you convince yourself that the things you love in that moment will actually stay the same forever.

   Those best friends forever, will actually be your friends forever. That boy you have a crush on, you’ll be married without a doubt. That college you want to go to, you’ll get in no problem. We lie to ourselves that those things will stay true no matter what other changes come. Because in that moment, nothing seems more terrifying than losing those things.

   As it turns out, I was a little bit wrong about how my life would actually be. Okay, I was a lot wrong.

   See, I couldn’t see exactly how things were going to turn out or what was going to happen (and I still can’t). But that’s kind of the point of change. We can let the changes come into our lives and ultimately destroy us because it’s not what we planned or initially wanted, or we can see how great everything really can become. I could choose to look at the changes that have happened in my life and focus on how much I miss being with my family every single day. Or on how I can’t even see the stars when I walk outside. Or on how difficult it is to stay connected with old friends.

   On the flip side, I could focus on some other things. Things like meeting an insane number of new friends that I can count on; all from college, work and my church. I could think about how much I love being with my second family, this amazing couple and their crew of 8. I could think about how amazing it is to be living with the most giving lady I have ever met (I’m talking grandma giving spirit here). I could realize that being able to work at place where I get paid to watch the Vikings and meet people like Chad Greenway and Paul Allan is pretty spectacular. I could think about how amazing it is that I have the opportunity to get an education on something I am so passionate about. I could look at how many new challenges God has helped me through.

   When I focus on those things, I began to realize that this whole change thing might not be the absolute worst. I began to realize that maybe that whole thing about God seeing the bigger picture and us being willing to trust in Him has more truth to it than most of us could ever fathom.

And, that’s the rub isn’t it? Yes, change is hard. Even if it’s something new that we’ve wanted for a long time. Our humanistic nature chooses to only see that it isn't “normal”, and our instincts tell us that it is something to fear. However, if we choose to let the fear win, and never change, how can we expect to grow?

   I recently had a friend tell me that they did not want to move from their hometown where they grew up because that’s where their roots lie. But you tell me, do you see the roots on the tallest trees? We still know that they’re there of course, because they wouldn’t be as big or beautiful without them. But if those roots chose to stay hidden in the ground, where they’re safe and comfortable, they would never know how great they could really be. They have to be willing to break ground to get to their full potential. 

A big change has to happen for people to see the greatness that God has placed inside all of us. He’s given us the ability to grow, we just have to choose to accept whatever that journey of growth may bring. Because then, and only then, will we see how great we can truly be.

   Change has happened. Change is now. Change is coming. But it’s up to you, and me, to decide how we’re going to react to it.

   Yes, life changes. But I wouldn’t change it for the world.