I stared at the tip jar at Common Grounds coffee shop as I waited to sit down with my Italian soda. In bold black letters the jar read, “If You Don’t Like Change, You Can Leave It Here.” Man, some days I wish I could.
I set down my purse, with the strap barely hanging onto the top of the chair as I hoped I would not forget it the way I do in the cafeteria at school. Mmmmm, that Italian soda sure looks good! I took a sip and felt the refreshing combination of Irish cream and carbonated bubbles slide into my tummy.
“So, what’s up?” my friend asked me.
It was May. Finals were ending, and we were both heading out on some incredible adventures for the Lord this summer. In a single stream of comments, I talked for the next 20 minutes about my bubbling excitement for Focus Leadership Institute and the nervousness I had in going. By the time those 20 minutes were over, I did not know what I was more full of: bubbles of excitement and nervousness, or bubbles of Italian soda. I was surprised, though, by my friend who generously listened and prayed for continued peace. Again.
A mentor from a few years back once said to me, “You don’t like change, do you?” Perhaps that is why I stare at that tip jar every time I walk into Common Grounds. Perhaps that’s why the most fervent prayer request I have for my friends is for peace. My mentor is enjoying our Lord Jesus in heaven now, but her question still pops up every once in a while. I have to face it. She was right. I don’t like change, even really good and fun change. Change creates a desire in me for more stability and commitment. Despite my best attempts to find those things in a season of change, nothing I find on this side of heaven fully satisfies.
But the Bible says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). In the midst of all my change, one thing I know for sure is true: He doesn’t change. And I can let go of what needs to be let go.
Surprisingly, being an adaptable person does not help with facing changes. While studying personality types at the Focus Leadership Institute, I came across an astounding revelation. Even being a messy, slightly extroverted, rush-to-the-deadline type of personality: I still need to trust Him.
I can find Jesus Christ in my yesterdays. I will see Him fully in heaven, too. Yet today is a new adventure to discover more of Him. I guess that’s why my tomorrows don’t really matter much to me anymore. He’s here right now. And He hasn’t changed. In a life full of change, He’s my one constant.
Perhaps no one really likes change, but with my one constant Jesus Christ, I can leave all my change behind me, be filled with bubbles of excitement, nervousness and joy, and have a new adventure with Him. Today.
I hope you will join me.
