Changes

Well, spring is finally in the air, and with springtime comes changes... the flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping, that fresh smell overtakes the air... the wonders of God seem to be screaming their presence for us to see. Some changes, though, can also create challenges. Spring often brings a whole new calendar of activities for those who have children active in various sports, allergies can sometimes increase with the new spring air, and that feeling of needing to do some spring cleaning may begin to start pulling at us (the results of spring cleaning are wonderful, the task of spring cleaning not so much!).

So I'm thinking about changes today. As I've shared before, God has been working on me for some time now, and asking me to make some difficult changes in my life. While they are exciting and always prove to be the best thing for me, the process is not always easy. What God requires of us changes as we go through different seasons of our life. At times, He may ask us to simply 'Be still and know that He is God' - pary continually, spend time daily in studying God's Word, praise God no matter what our circumstances are, etc. Other times, the Lord may ask us to give Him everything we've got - listen for His voice, trust Him completely, be obedient to what He tells us to do (even if we don't really want to!), and make changes that may be difficult for us to make at the time. No matter what season we are in, though, we must keep our hearts and minds focused on Him, and praise Him at all times. God's Word tells us that "to whom much is given, much is required" (Luke 12:48). But I've learned that with God, 'to much is required, much is also given'! When God requires much, He is faithful, and He will do even more - you can never out-give God! Sometimes, God requires a lot from us simply so we can have the privilege of being in a living, breathing relationship with Him.

I'm on spring break with my family this week at my in-laws house in North Carolina. I'm ashamed to say that this is the first time in several years that I have taken this trip with my family. They come down here every year, but in my misdirected "loyalty" to my business and my teammates in the business, I have chosen to stay home the last several years. I hate to confess it, but I also did the same thing many of the last several Thanksgivings. One of the major changes that God has had me make over the last several months was making the decision to give up my office and go part-time in my business. It was a very hard decision for me to make and I denied His calling to do so for several months, but once the decision was made, it has become a blessing in more ways than I could have ever imagined (as the song says, "I guess the Lord knows what He's doing after all"!). I have enjoyed being home with my youngest son and getting him off the bus from preschool. I've been able to be there for my daughter when she has gone through some difficult times the last couple of months - not just in body, but I was able to be with her 100% and give her my full attention, without feeling guilty that I should have been doing something at work. I've been able to be at sports banquets with my oldest son, and show him by my actions, not just my words, how important he is to me. And I have been able to take this vacation with my family, and enjoy just being with them, doing absolutely nothing!

I'm thinking about those "changes" that God asks us to make. It's true that some are difficult for us because of the things we have to do, the challenges we have to face, or because they force us to get out of our comfort zone. But many are difficult because we have to look ourselves honestly in the mirror and face the reality that we have allowed things other than God to take priority in our lives, even if they appear to be good things. How many times have we settled for good when God had something great in store for us if we had just listened to Him and been obedient to what He told us to do?

So I'm making some changes today - again! (And I'm asking the Lord to forgive me for the times that I did not uphold the changes I've made in the past.) I'm changing how I look at things and what I decide is really important in my life. I'm changing the order of the priorities I keep in my life to be God, family, then business (not just the order that I say I keep!). I'm changing how I look at the times when I am privileged to do "nothing" with my family - some "nothings" are way more important than many of the "somethings" in my life. And I'm changing my commitment to the changes I'm making, and I'm counting on Jesus to help me keep my commitments when my human nature is tempted to forget!

God is a God of changes... but He is also a God of faithfulness, and He promises to be with us through all of the changes we are required to make. How blessed are we that the Lord loves us so much that He pursues us to be in relationship with Him, He guides us down paths to unbelievable treasures, He shows us where we need to change to reach those destinations, and He helps us make those changes as He molds us to be like He made us to be?!

I hope you will join me in praising the Lord today, no matter what season of change you are in today!