Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Changes.   In life we all have times of change.  Sometimes we look forward to them, but often a change can come along and we just have to ride the wave so we don't drown when it happens.

Right now it seems that a few people I know and care about are experiencing some change in their lives.  One is experiencing a move and meeting new people, one is experiencing a family sickness, another is leaving the church, and a dear friend is sending her child off to college.

As David Bowie's song "Changes" says - "turn and face the strange."   Meet the new way head on.  Look forward and accept the change.

It's not always easy.   In fact sometimes it's hard work.  It takes a stiff upper lip to keep moving forward.   I have certainly moved a few times (more than a few!) in my life.  I know how scary it can be (but also exciting).  I have had to worry about a sick family member before too.   I have never left a church congregation unless it was for a move, so I don't know how I would handle that change.  But, I have had to send my daughters off to college and the "big world" and at the same time learned to find my way as an "empty nester."

I know ALL the changes are major... and I feel for my friends going through them right now.

So this post is a "hug" to them all... and it's my little 'ole way to give some encouragement. This change in their life will be temporary - and soon the new way will become ordinary.

I was in my church library yesterday and came upon a small book called "One Minute Prayers for Women" and brought it home to read.  It caught my eye because...one minute?  Yes, I can handle that!  Also, it is divided up into situations... like Letting Go, Direction, Purpose, Abundance, and more.

This page comes from The Past section...

So, to my "changing" friends....   I leave you with this from Isaiah:

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?    

The Prayer:

Free me from the past, Lord.  I spend too much time there.  Good times that have come and gone replay in my mind so often that I miss the wonder of today's joy.  Cause me to be present, Lord.  Draw my attention to the life in front of me.  My past has nothing to offer You or myself.  But today... now... has so much to offer.
Give me a view of new wonders You are doing. I imagine they are brilliant happenings.  Do not let my mind slip to the past, except to count the times you have blessed me. Then I must move on.  My past serves my future... it is a foundation for all days that follow.  Now I must invest my time, my dreams, my prayers on the future You have carved out for me.
Amen.