Change is inevitable. And desirable!

The recent earthquakes remind me that change is an inevitable part of life. The very earth that we stand on is not so solid as we sometimes think. Scientists tell us that even the continents "drift" over time. Land that is dust and desert was once at the bottom of a vast ocean.


The winds of change -- to use another 'nature' analogy -- constantly blow through our lives, sometimes gently, sometimes like a hurricane. Sometimes we have to struggle just to find time to catch our breath, to relax and to adjust to change, and to even enjoy it.

Enjoy it? 


Yes, change can be, and often is, desirable.

While change typically brings on temporary stress, resisting change or hoping that everything returns to "normal" can be a bad plan. But it might be a better idea to prepare ourselves for a new normal.

Change is necessary to take us where we're going. The secret to dealing with change is to trust that our Higher Power has a plan in mind, even when we don't know where change is headed. What a wonderful perspective, to be able to relax and enjoy the ride, with optimistic curiosity about when and where it will end!

God, just for today, help me let go of my resistance to change. Help me be open to the process. Help me believe that the place I end up will be better than the place where I started. Help me to surrender, trust, and accept that Thy will be done, even if I don't understand it.

The Doors We Open and Close

The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live. –Flora Whittemore

“When one door closes, another one opens,” is a very common axiom in our society. It means that every phase in our life has a natural beginning and end. When it looks like one road it coming to an end, that’s all right, because we can be certain another will be appearing ahead.

Experiencing a door shut can be frightening and stressful, though. Friendships, marriages, jobs, and aspirations can all come to an end. These situations can seem incomprehensible, and can create a miasma of negative thoughts and emotions. On the other side of things, positive opportunities that open up for us can be equally as confusing; we may not always understand why we’re meant to do something, or why it’s happening now.

Despite the incomprehensibility of these situations, and the ensuing thoughts and emotions that can run through us, it is key to remember that God is at the forefront of all these changes, and He is unfolding a different plan for our lives.

The doors that open and close for us are each meant as preparation for the newest stage of our lives. We can’t think of ourselves as lab rats, randomly running through a maze of experiences, trying to reach the prize cheese. Each and every step we take is planned and executed by our Higher Power, meant to guide us through all the doors that will bring us into the complete plan for our lives.