Hangin' Ten

Being my first blog and therefore my first entry, have patience. I'll learn. I am ruminating this morning about many things, chief among them is that in this earthly life, I have found, there is one thing that is constant above all other things... Change. Hence the name I chose for this blog. It is a relentless partner that lurks close by, ready to jerk me off my feet and send me in a new direction the minute I feel that everything is finally stable. That all is right with my world. You would think after all these years I would have made friends with change, accepting it's existence and it's higher purpose. This purpose (I have determined) is growth. I believe God uses this natural climate of change to develop our character, but more importantly to develop our relationship with Him. I may be taken off guard when the waves of change rise up beneath me, but He is not. It is a scary and dangerous ride when I refuse to accept that change is inevitable and in all likelihood...good for my soul and like a surfer who refuses to balance on the board I am shaken to and fro and dumped headlong onto the reef, upside-down in an environment with an oxygen level my lungs cannot tolerate....despite what they claim in the movie 'The Abyss'. The last 2 years have been a turning point in my life. God has given me nothing but opportunities to trust Him to meet all my needs, which of course He has, in every possible way. All the years I spent being stressed over change did nothing to prevent change from happening. So what am I fighting for? Why resist the blessing of growth? IT HURTS, THAT'S WHY! Pain. Something we all fear and avoid. But I am at the conclusion that pain is always worse in my mind than in real life. So to that end, I am going to learn to surf the waves of change. To breathe and enjoy the ride I am given, whatever is happening. Painful, sure, maybe. But, not nearly as painful as crashing into the reef. I love the analogy in "Parenthood" with Steve Martin and Mary Steenburgen. Steve's character is always hostile to change, Mary's realizes that it is just normal for life to be a roller coaster, so why not throw your hands up and enjoy the ride instead of freaking out like these things are only happening to you, like your the target.

Nope, not me. I'm going to be hangin' ten from now on.....