The Holy Spirit's Family Room

How often have we heard, or said, “I hate change!” As human beings, we like to have the answers, we like our routine, we try to simplify our lives and control our future by keeping our plans and our days the same. Change always requires us to adjust, sometimes for a happier alternative and sometimes for a demanding one.

The ancient poet Heraclitus once said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man.” The river changes as different water flows by, but we change, too. I am not the same person as I was even yesterday, or an hour ago. Both kinds of change, within us and in the world around us, determine how we react to a challenge.

We don’t have control, usually, of the changes around us. The weather gets triple-digit hot for days. A good friend dies. Gophers eat the spinach in the garden. The water heater goes out, or the car dies. A family member comes to visit. A baby is born. We are called to adapt.

We have a lot more control over our personal changes. We can’t always control our mental, emotional, or physical state. People do get sick. They break a leg! They get COVID. They grieve.

The one thing we can control is our attitude. How do we do this? First, we decide attitude is something that we can choose. Then we consider where we stand in the great scheme of things. My mother used to say, “This too shall pass.” When we reframe our concerns in an eternal framework, we realize that whatever is troubling us, or giving us joy, is for this moment, or these days, and not forever. James says in his epistle, “My brothers, you will always have your trials, but when they come, try to treat them as a happy privilege; you understand that your faith is only put to the test to make you patient, but patience too is to have its practical results so that you will become fully developed, complete, with nothing missing.” We can rejoice in any passing hardship because it strengthens us and increases our compassion for others going through difficult times. We can choose to put our troubles in perspective with those who suffer around us: The bedridden, the homeless, those without enough to eat. We can truly give thanks for the blessings we have.

We can rest in the arms of Jesus. James tells us in the book of Hebrews, “Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be for ever.” He stretches out his loving hand to us in every situation. We can relax: God’s plan for us is custom-made and will be for our eternal good.