As I sat on my deck one morning this week, I noticed the underlying coolness in the breeze, saw a lone tree branch shaded red, and watched yellow leaves flutter to earth, heralding fall. I knew the temperature would soar to 90 before day’s end, but for those brief moments, I enjoyed the hint of changing seasons ahead.
So much about our world has changed and continues to change. Many of those changes are disturbing, unsettling, even frightening. So, how do you find peace and positivity in change? Following are some thoughts:
See Good Beyond the Familiar
That which is familiar is comfortable. Change forces us beyond what we are accustomed to, pushing us to view from a different perspective and attempt what isn’t easy. Often, we are resistant and complain rather than seeing good beyond the familiar.
Noticing good while we are in the middle of change requires effort and insight. Look for and process the good.
Accept the Refining Aspects of Change
Recently, I recorded a podcast with a host in California. Before the interview began, she told me the sky had been as black as night for days on end because of fires nearby. While nothing about wildfires is positive, I thought about how the intensity of hard seasons of life refines us, burning away the superfluous and leaving us more aware of what is truly important in life.
Perhaps you are enduring a heartache, health issue, difficult relationships, or a major life change that feels anything but positive. You may be experiencing multiple challenges at once, which is often the case. Experiencing peace when hardship seems relentless is dependent on faith and trust.
Often, we don’t see the positives until we have walked through the fire and come out on the other side. Believe the challenges and changes in your life will result in a new, more positive perspective in the days ahead. God never allows us to walk through hard seasons of life without bringing something good out of it.
Look for Growth
Earlier this summer, I took a chrysanthemum from a pot on our deck and planted it in a bed at the edge of the woods. The chrysanthemum survived the winter in a sheltered corner near the house and flourished in the spring, but the heat of summer and its location took a toll. The plant looked so bad when I moved it to the yard, I expected it to die.
A few weeks ago, I noticed a flash of burgundy and saw the mum had tripled in size and was covered with blooms. Often, we fail to see that change leads to growth. Relocating the plant to better soil, in a place where irrigation reached it, allowed the mum to thrive.
Growth is not always easy for us, and often, not without some type of pain. In growing through change, you may discover gifts and talents you never realized you possessed and be better equipped to minister to those around you.
Change Heralds Something New
Would you like to experience something new in your life? Or are you tied to complacency? Sometimes God wants to do something new in our lives, but we are unwilling to move. Perhaps past experiences make you hesitant. Don’t miss out on something new because you are fearful of change. Find peace through relinquishing control, acceptance, trust, and in time, forward motion.
The darkness of difficulty and fear gives way to the dawn of understanding as we see clearly the positives wrought through change.
“Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already—you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there” (Isaiah 43:19 GNT).
©CandyArrington
Candy Arrington is a writer, blogger, speaker, and freelance editor. She often writes on tough topics with a focus on moving through, and beyond, difficult life circumstances. Candy has written hundreds of articles, stories, and devotionals published by numerous outlets including: Inspiration.org, Arisedaily.com, CBN.com, Healthgrades.com, Care.com, Focus on the Family, NextAvenue.org, CountryLiving.com, and Writer’s Digest. Candy’s books include Life on Pause: Learning to Wait Well (Bold Vision Books), When Your Aging Parent Needs Care (Harvest House), and AFTERSHOCK: Help, Hope, and Healing in the Wake of Suicide (B&H Publishing Group).
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