Change

*cringe*

Don't you hate that word? CHANGE. I do. Or at least I used to.

CHANGE. It can be such a nasty thing. It can pull you out of your comfort zone. Force you to do something hard. Or even just slightly alter what is familiar.

CHANGE. It can be such a wonderful thing. It can show you what could be if you would just take a chance and trust God. It teaches you to have endurance. And even alters our perspective on things.

For me on a normal day if you ask me what I think of CHANGE, I'll probably point you to the first definition. I'll say it's a nasty thing.  However, maybe it's not.  CHANGE is hard, but I'm learning it can be wonderful.

Here's a silly little example: Anyone that knows me well knows that I am not athletic by any means whatsoever. Do you know what I just did? I ran. At 6:00AM. About a mile and a half. Have I gone crazy? Yes. I absolutely have. This is a huge CHANGE for me. Although that's a silly example, stuff like that is happening a lot to me. I realize there are ways to better myself, my relationship with others and my relationship with God.  I've also learned that if you trust God to take care of things, the change won't be too bad even if it's hard.  Just knowing that God's got a plan for whatever CHANGE is going on is a wonderful thing.

Therefore, stay walking in God's path and rest assured that whatever CHANGE comes your way, God will bring you through. There will be a lesson to learn. And in the end you will be stronger. Yes, CHANGE can be so good.

Awakenings

Have you ever found yourself in a hole? You may not have actually realized you were there until after someone helped you out or you were forced out. In there, things may have seemed dark and terrifying. Maybe you wanted to get out but could not.

However, you may have decided its quite cosy in there and even though there is so much waiting for you outside, you don't care. You deny the outside's existence. You are perfectly content to be comfy.  But what happens when a storm comes? Little by little you are beginning to find yourself in a flood. You know you need to get to higher ground  but you don't know how because you have not left this place in a very long time. The flood waters are rising. You're half covered in water. Lost. There is no way to escape. Not to mention you don't really want to leave, but you're drowning.  There are no options but to leave or die.  You don't want to recognize your own helplessness to the outside world, but there are no other options.  You reach up your hand and suddenly another one meets yours. All of a sudden you are being pulled out.  The water is at your thighs now. Ankles. Feet. You are out! You are free. Your rescuer is no where to be seen. You look around.  It's nice out here. The stars are shining bright above you. But you miss the cosiness of your old home. You begin to walk around. The sky begins to lighten.  Suddenly the sun starts to appear over the trees. You see the glorious rays shining down on you.  You feel the heat pierce your skin. You look down. Grass. Beautiful green grass everywhere! Suddenly, your old quaint little home doesn't seem like much of a home anymore, but a prison.

Although you cursed it at first, you are now thankful for the storm.  If there had been no storm, you'd still be stuck in that hole. So bless the storm. Now, you are free. Where to go now? Search. Explore. Find your rescuer and thank Him. See what else may be out there. Maybe somebody else is stuck and needs a rescuer. Or maybe you find somebody else to join you in your new adventure.

All you know for sure is you will never go back to the life you had before. If you can call it a life. Now, you can finally LIVE!