Angry or Grateful?

It seems like the only constant in life is change. I was painting a space in our bedroom and realized the last time I painted that area was eighteen years ago. Most of my life has greatly changed since then. If you had told me then about my life now I am not sure I would have believed you. One of the gifts of change is the fact that things change all the time so the progression from then to now may seem dramatic, yet in reality it took eighteen years.

I like this Proverb because not all change is productive change. Sometimes new people move in – into jobs, houses, organizations, or even into or out of families – and the change involved in is not always for the better. Not all change makes things better, some of it rips things apart simply for the sake of change and making a mark on things. I have learned that it is better to wait and understand than to change simply for change sake. Why mess something up then have to put it back together simply because “the new way” is better? It is really better? Or is it just new which implies better? It can be too late when we learn that the “way things are done” is the way it works best. Being patient helps ferret that lesson out before it is too late.

And of course we have all had change thrust upon us in areas where we would rather not have changed. Be it work, home, our community or even our own physical health. Change can really suck! It hits us over the head and takes from us what we have cherished or come to rely upon, only to leave in it’s place a poor substitute for our comfort. We have a saying around our house, getting old is not for sissies! Those of us over the age of fifty know the truth in that statement. As life happens things change with much of that beyond our control.

As I finished painting that area in our bedroom I gave thanks for ALL the changes over the years…they good ones, the bad ones, and the ugly ones. They all somehow worked together to get me to where I am today. I didn’t always have a choice about the changes yet I do have a choice about my attitude now. I can be angry or grateful. As this is the month of Thanksgiving I choose to be thankful for the lessons and changes the years have brought my way. I hope you can do the same.