Change

I woke up to one of my favorite songs this morning. As it sweetly played the guitar and sang its meaningful message, I couldn't help but drift away into my dreams again. Oops. It's 6:20 am. The past few weeks I've been sleeping in and snoozing through my alarms. This is not normal! But, it's beginning to become a routine, which scares me. Am I seriously just so tired I can't wake up from a noisy alarm? Or do I simply need to change my songs to more upbeat, unfamiliar music? Perhaps, I am slowly becoming accustomed to snoozing through any alarm and have developed my own resistance to its purpose. It could be a combination of all three, but for whatever reason, I am snoozing through my morning, and as a result, neglecting my habit of daily Bible reading.

My cell phone alarm this morning played the song Finish Last by Stellar Kart. The beginning verse is my favorite and is perfect for what I'm going through right now.

"People change and plans get changed and
Everything changes but You
Everybody moves around and
Everything gets pushed around but You
You always stay the same, stay the same

I want to finish last
Last in the world's eyes
No matter what I do
I will be first in your eyes

I am running in this race and
I am pressing onwards towards the finish line
You have promised me a better life
Far beyond this world, far beyond this place and time"

I don't like change. No one does, to some extent. It's the fear of the unknown and our comfort zone that compels us to hate anything different than "status quo." The phrase status quo is actually Latin for "the state in which." It means the "current or existing state of affairs" (Wikipedia). This is the opposite of change. It reminds me of the song Status Quo in High School Musical-portraying how it's good to do something different and not follow the status quo presented in every high school. It's hard to break out of that clique and be unique.

Everyone changes. No matter what your personality is, everyone is constantly changing. It's part of growing up. Even once you're an adult, you still have to cope with change. Whether it's a new job, house, family, or even something as simple as a new brand of toothpaste, it's all around us. Now, some people are more resistant to change than others, who throw themselves into a state of panic when the sofa is moved to a new living room corner. I'm not quite that crazy, but even that takes some adjusting to. I remember, ever since I was a little girl, my mom would always move my furniture around-just to change things up. This was exciting for me, but at the same time hard. To suddenly sleep in a different spot and have my dresser be to the right of my bed instead of the left is weird. What if I had to grab a tissue in the middle of the night and reached to the left? We're talking about life or death situations, here (I hope you realize I'm kidding). Okay, so change isn't that bad when the topic is furniture, but what about a broken relationship, or the death of a family member? How do we cope with change when we lose our job or have to adjust with a tighter financial budget? This is where I'm so glad there's a God. And not just a big, thunder making God who brings judgment on evil. I mean the loving, caring, best friend God who never changes.

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

Ecclesiastes 1:4 "Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes."

Isaiah 14:27 "The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken—who can change his plans? When his hand is raised,who can stop him?”

Isaiah 31:2 "In his wisdom, the Lord will send great disaster; he will not change his mind. He will rise against the wicked and against their helpers."

I decided to use the New Living Translation (all past posts have been New International Version) because it used the word "change" more than the NIV. I love the beginning of the Finish Last song: "People change and plans get changed and everything changes but You." This is so true. The only one we can really count on is God-because He never changes. Now, I'm not saying change is bad. Change is good! Can you imagine our lives void of change? Nothing would be interesting-life just wouldn't have any spice! But, our ability to change and human nature can hurt people (especially sensitive people like me). When we change our minds and plans, and don't keep our promises, it's disappointing. And what should we expect? We're only human and shouldn't have perfection as an expectation. This is hard to keep in mind for me, because I am one of the world's greatest perfectionist. Thank goodness for God! He will never fail me. He always keeps His promises and never changes. My grandmother always says, "Never say never," because-you guessed it-people change. There is only one case where I can say never or always, and that's with God. Because he will truly never forsake us. He is always with us and will never leave us.

My mother tells me change is good. Her wisdom from experience always helps me. I think that's why the Bible says to honor your father and mother-because they've been through it before. To encourage me, my mother says that we'll always have to face change. Whether we want to or not, our lives are constantly changing. But, we can always count on God. In order to cope with a changing life, we must rely on God, because He never changes. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

-Both pictures taken by Bubbly :)