Changes
With the new school year started it always brings changes in my family’s life. My two daughters are in new grades with new people, new teachers, and new expectations. Their extracurricular activities change and with it our week changes to accommodate them. My wife, who teaches 4th grade, has new students and new teachers on her team. This year our oldest daughter has her mother as a teacher. That brings lots of changes for both them!
© 2014 Robert Couse-Baker, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio
At church our young people have many changes in their life this time of year as well. Some are just starting middle school and others are starting high school. Some are stepping onto a college campus for the first time. Some are trying new sports or new classes in school. In a teenager’s life change is a constant.
Lots of people fear change (like Charles!). But I really enjoy it. I like to try new things. Growing up my family mostly went to the same vacation spot every summer, but now I enjoy going to a different place every year. I enjoy rearranging the furniture in our house. Every year I look for different mission trip experiences. At the end of the summer, I look to make changes in our Wednesday after school youth ministry. I like to look for new curriculum and new ways to reach teenagers.
Even though I enjoy change and seek it out there is still a comfort in the familiar. Knowing what to expect brings a peace. Truth be told, I really only enjoy change that I can control. When presented with the opportunity to change that I might not be able to control the outcome or when change is forced on me, it makes me nervous. But when I feel God pushing me to make changes that are outside of my control and I step into it, that is when I feel the Holy Spirit at work. Sometimes God wants me to make changes that are outside my comfort zone and to take risks. In most of the stories in the Bible where God is calling people, they initially resist it because it was change that they couldn’t control. But when they gave in and got outside of their comfort zone, they encountered God and saw what it is like to live life to the fullest.
What changes is God asking you to make? Why are you hesitant to make those changes? Maybe God is encouraging you to volunteer with a new ministry at church. Or maybe the change is to make worship part of your every Sunday routine. Maybe God is encouraging you to join a small group or attend Sunday school. Change can be hard, but when we step into it, it can also be exactly what we need!