Monday with Madi: The Perfect Way of Handling Change

It's not about perfectly processing change; it's about showing up every day.

 

by Madi Cowell 

Driving home one night, I had the thought: “Is there really any perfect way of handling change in life?”

Change can come in various ways in life. For me, the change that is about to occur in a month is packing up and moving to Virginia for college. For others, it could be changing schools, parents divorcing or missing someone that you used to be close to. Every time change occurs, we make sure we handle it in the perfect way, or what we think is perfect. All the while, we’re hoping that we can still appear to have everything together to those around us…and also sometimes to ourselves. There is nothing that can be more discomforting than knowing that you may not be okay or that something happening in your life is rubbing you in the wrong way.

Countless times in my life, when change has happened, I feel as though I constantly handle change the wrong way. Let me give you some examples: If a boy doesn’t care for me the way I thought he did, I can tend to put off those emotions and not process them. I shove them out, so that I don’t have to think about the embarrassment and the pain. If there is change coming in my school or work, I try to take the change into my control and end up causing way too much anxiety for myself that wasn’t necessary. At the end of the day, I find myself wondering what I am doing wrong and why I am not getting this whole handling-change-thing down correctly.

But that night, as I was driving, I realized: every single person handles change in a completely different way. I watch my best friend, who is also leaving for college, my friends who will still be staying home when I move, and my parents, all processing the same event, but in completely different ways. And that’s when it clicked for me. It’s not about finding some perfect way of handling change; it’s about showing up every day. That’s all God wants. He wants us to show up, and declare that we are not defeated. No matter what the change may be. Sometimes the changes occurring in our lives can be MASSIVE, and we feel like we cannot carry the weight on our backs. That is because we were not made to. Walking with the Lord is about releasing control, and looking forward to the unknown. Because we know this, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

Each person processes change in the best way they know how. When people are going through something, to an outsider looking in, sometimes we don’t get it. But each person’s situation is going to look different. That’s because Jesus has different ways of pulling our heartstrings and speaking into each and every one of our lives. He knows our whole hearts and what each and everyone of us need to hear in order to best help us handle things.

Life is about perseverance. It’s about having the endurance to admit that, yes I don’t know where I am going or where God is calling me next or why this is happening to me, but I do know this, that His word is true and everlasting. And those words are what allow us to endure, and to move forward in peace. He is the perfect answer to the unanswered questions.

So, when life brings change into the picture, like it so often does, fret not. Remember who is Steadfast through the wind and waves of life. Let Him guide you through some answers we will never fully understand unless we rely on someone who is not ourselves to handle them.

 

The winner of “Breaking Up With Perfect” by Amy Carroll is  Maya who posted on July 17 at 11:21 p.m. Maya, please send us your full name and address and we’ll get it sent out to you!

 

I’ll be out this week, speaking at Proverbs 31 Ministries’ She Speaks conference. I look forward to connecting with you again next week! – Lynn

 

 

Lynn

3 Comments

  1. Jennifer Biggs says:

    Thank you for your thoughts on change! Recently my family has experienced a change that to the world it looks like everything is upside down in our lives. In perspective though God is making everything right side up for us.
    Due to toxic mold our daughter has struggled with a mystery illness for nearly 15 years and we have lost our home and all our personal belongings but God has been faithful to provide our needs. We have experienced him working in our lives like never before. We could never have envisioned what we are going through but He has a plan!

    1. Lynn Cowell says:

      I am so sorry to hear that. You and your family are so strong as you continue to look up everyday, what a story. You’re perserverance is beautiful. -Madi

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.