Change

Things change.

I am not sure why, but the blessing of the words from Compline resonate in my mind often - the changes and chances of life. In fact, they have been a guide and a consolation over the last two years of change.

Things change.

One day out of your kitchen window you are even with the tops of trees and the forests before you sway to the breeze. The next day, your view is of tree trunks and your windows tilt in for easy cleaning. You can see about 150 plus feet of flat backyard waiting for planting and wildflower gardens.

Things change.

One day all your children and family are fine; the next day they are all under your roof and you travel 350 miles to care for dying parents. These are the changes and chances of life that Compline tells of for sure.

Things change.

I volunteer a lot. I volunteered to be a missionary to a restart of a church in a nearby community that was struggling. New people, new hymns, new format, new pews, new stories to hear, new vicar, new just about everything. I feel I was called to volunteer. I certainly had a choice and as unsettling as all the "new" is I love this congregation. All are new to me and because who I am and how I love - I love them all as great new friends that I haven't met yet. And they make me happy and refreshed in that they love me the same.

Things change.

Occasionally I will attend the familiar grounds of my former church. I will sit in my familiar pew and gaze upon all the new faces that surround me. Surely there are familiar faces, but not always. I realize that the church that gave me strength to volunteer to be a missionary has changed also. It has grown new families and new children come forward for the children's sermon. I even find that when an early service is not possible that the 11:15 service is a good solution, which I savor and try to understand why the changes and chances of life have put me here. You see I never saw myself as an 11 O'clocker, but the Lord finds me there sitting and praying and listening.

Things change.

I have never been a fan of change. I am a rut runner. I can walk the same path daily and never bore of it. The Lord had different ideas. She wanted me to be more open to all the full blessings of life. He wanted me to spread the Gospel in areas unpathed. So here I wander in my new church surroundings. I love it here. I love the new blended congregation. I pray that they love me too. Newness and change are sometimes hard to read - - so I journey on - - praying for the full blessing that comes from the changes and chances of life.