Change—It’ll Do You Good?

Recently, my Kindergartner’s school newsletter posed the question for parents: “What do you think of change?” Thinking about change wasn’t a new thing. Change was the subject of a sermon series a year ago. Change has been on the forefront of my mind in the last couple of years as I’ve gone through some personal growth and recovery. And change is something we’re all thinking about now.

The school asked it because the district is in the midst of looking at restructuring their building usage to be more practical and cost-effective. This will mean some building may close. Grades may be shifted. There will be change.
 
My response to the school’s newsletter (if you reply you get entered into a drawing for a gift certificate—so I admit my motives weren’t without reason) was this:

Most of us fear change; a few thrive on it. Change, however, is necessary. Ask any biologist. If an organism doesn’t change, it doesn’t grow. And if it doesn’t grow, it dies. Yes, there can be harmful change (ask any patient who has just learned the news of cancer). But much change can be good—especially if we work to make it so. It takes discernment to know if change will be bad or good. But more than discernment, a positive attitude is needed: an attitude that goes into a situation of change looking for ways to make it positive, to work to make a smooth transition, to encourage and support those who need it. Our children are so much better off if we teach them to not run from change but to face it head on, prepared and with a positive, helpful attitude.
What is true for the school is true for the church.

Change is hard. Change is painful. But change is good. Especially when in the will of God.
 
The outcome of change depends largely on our attitude to it. Do we face challenges with a positive attitude, knowing God gives us the strength to accomplish the things He puts before us? Do we face change knowing that God is the one in control, the ultimate orchestrator of history? Do we face opportunities for growth knowing that in all things God works for the good?

David Wenell is a Covenant Member at Sanctuary. He is ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church and has served in ministry in Iowa and British Columbia before moving to St. Loius Park. He blogs regularly at www.wandering-in-the-wilderness.blogspot.com and is currently a stay-at-home dad.