Change

From my "Grace Notes" by Alexandra Stoddard, today's topic was change.

"Behind seeming permanence lies constant flux. Heraclitus

You are changing and everyone around you is changing. THe rate of change differs, accept that.

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Back when I first married, I remember my mother-in-law talking about change. Her youngest two children married within 6 weeks of each other. Her father died right after the second wedding. It was not too long after that her mother-in-law moved in with them. She said that one thing about life was that things were always changing. You go from childhood, get married, have children, children grow up, you have grandchildren, friends and family die.

Being in Amarillo, I can look back and see how many things have changed since I got married and left home 36 years ago. We used to come to Amarillo and it took a full two days of making the rounds to see all the family. My grandparents were alive, Henry's grandmothers were alive, we had Henry's aunt and uncle to visit. While many of that set are gone, we have new ones to take their place. My nieces both have husbands and children now. My children are grown with households of their own.

While I'm still Mary Ann, I'm probably a different Mary Ann than I was all those years ago. I have wonderful memories not only of my family that are now gone, but also of the trips we took, the activities of my children. When I was a young adult, I taught children at every church we attended. While I have taught children at Brentwood, most of my teaching has been geared to adult women. I'm still active physically, but some things are harder due to injuries from the past. I still get where I want to go, I still hike, but I'm a lot slower than I once was.

My perspective on life is different. My those parents of those babies look young, but I was that young, once. The senior citizens don't look nearly as old . . . I see the changes in my friend's faces, especially ones I have not seen in a while. Aging is no respecter of persons. We march through life, we unsucessfully try to drag our feet and slow the aging process down. We exercise, we watch our diets, we work puzzles . . . all in hopes of keeping our bodies and minds fit in our "old age."

But, old age sneaks up on us. My inlaws marvel sometimes about having lived as long as they have. Time goes by quickly.

Change is part of life. Nothing is constant. No . . . that is not quite true. God is constant. And he walks with us throughout all the changes - both good and bad - that come as we go through our lives.

Ecclesiastes talks about there being a time for everything under heaven. Change is one of those constants. Sometimes it is good - like the Texas weather, if you don't like it, wait awhile and it will change.

Sometimes we need to accept the inevitable changes, sometimes we need to fight them. And yes, we need wisdom to know when to accept and when to fight.

But, when change is inevitable, embrace it, accept it, and find ways to rejoice in it.