Change

The theme of my week has been change. My husband took our jar of collected change to the bank and opened a vacation fund. On Saturday night we had the time change. As a family, we are preparing for some major life change. And, this week I had two conversations about change with two very dear friends. One friend was expressing her desire for more change and adventure in her life. She was quick to say that she does not like stress or hard changes, but that she longs for breaks in routine and things that feel new. The other friend is facing major change in her life, and feeling uncomfortable with it. Most of the change is good change, wanted and exciting change, but she feels unsettled by all of the unexpected and new in her life.


Change, even good change, can be challenging. Someone once described people who don’t like change as people “whose ships turn slowly,” and I’ve kept that image in my mind. I imagine a boat trying to make a turn, and the process of changing direction makes the ocean choppy and unsettled. The motion of turning literally rocks the boat, and those on board may lose their footing a bit. Some people love the waves, love the sensation of the boat turning beneath them. Others feel thrown off and sea-sick. They long for calmer waters and a steady course.

We all have different comfort levels with change. For some, a simple change in routine feels seriously upsetting. Construction forces them to take a different route to work, and they feel thrown off for the day. Others can handle small change, but feel unsettled by more significant short-term changes. Vacation feels like a wonderful adventure, but they always feel ready to return home to “normal life.” It’s fun to have company, but it also feels a little disruptive to the daily schedule. Then there are the bigger, yet positive changes. A new job, a new baby, a new home. All things that are wanted and eagerly planned for, but the experience of transition can feel exhausting to some. To others it is energizing and exciting. And other change, the kind that involves loss and fear, is difficult for almost everybody. Saying goodbye to someone you love. Coping with a natural disaster. Good things can come, eventually, from these changes, but the grief and fear involved make the process inevitably hard and painful.

Change is part of life. How can we find comfort when faced with the upset of change? For those of us who are easily challenged by shifts on our boat, how can we find stable footing in a world that feels unstable?

A great deal of comfort can be found by looking beneath the surface of the water. When a major storm or a simple shift in direction causes the surface of the ocean to rise and fall and foam and froth, it is easy to see nothing but the waves. But, if you look deeper, down beneath the surface, you will see that the ocean is calm. There is peace beneath the chaos. That picture, that image alone, can provide some peaceful moments in the midst of change.

But that picture represents something deeper, something truer. When life is rapidly changing and all feels unsettled, there are truths beneath the surface that never change and are not shaken. We can cling to that which we know will never be altered and will never fail. Isaiah 54:10 reminds us, “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.”

The unfailing love of God can give us peace in the midst of change. Psalm 94:18 says, “When I said ‘my foot is slipping,’ your unfailing love, Oh Lord, supported me.” There is a bigger picture than the change we are currently experiencing, and remembering the truths, the goodness, and the love of that big picture can provide comfort and peace when we are unsettled.

When change creates chaos, being reminded of these truths can feel as difficult as finding solid footing on a shifting boat in a storm. It is then that we desperately need to find quiet moments to stop and think. We need to meditate and reflect on those truths we know will never change, that peace which exists beneath the chaos. We need to be mindful of that which is always there for us to cling to.

Once we’ve done this, it is so much easier to enjoy the change. We can find the freedom to adapt, to let go of the old and open our hands to the new. We can turn our eyes to the beauty, possibility, and joy we are facing with the change. We can open our ears to the encouraging words of our friends.

In a few days we won’t think about the time change anymore. Many of the changes you are facing now, even ones that feel big, will very quickly become routine, and will soon feel part of the ordinary. But what will remain constant is that our lives will always involve change. Therefore, we will always benefit from learning how to enjoy change, adapt with change, and handle change gracefully.