By +Jeanne Takenaka @JeanneTakenaka
My Five Minute Friday prompt this week is—Change. This largely unedited “rough draft” form of writing stretches this perfectionist, in the best of ways. I write for five minutes on a given topic. If you’re interested in learning more about 5-Minute Fridays, check out our hostess, Kate Motaung’s site. Or, click on the link at the bottom of this post. As you read my simpler Friday posts, I hope you’ll join in the conversation!
Change
Isn’t it crazy how we sometimes yearn for change without realizing it? When I was single, I wanted a change in my status, in the form of a gold band (and a diamond) on my left finger.
God gave me an amazing husband. A change in status led to many changes in addresses as we traveled at Uncle Sam’s will with the Air Force.
After a few years in marriage, I yearned for a change in status again. Children. We’d tried to have children, but God’s plan was not for us to conceive. That change in my plans about broke me. But, he did give us a change…..we had the privilege of adopting two amazing boys.
Anyone who’s a mother knows that change is the daily constant with kids in the home. I haven’t yearned for any more changes in status because I want to cherish each moment with our kids.
And it might be in part because under it all, I don’t like change. I like predictability in my schedule, in my days.
God has a way of mixing things up though—of changing them—because it’s through change that I am forced to draw near to Him, to trust Him through it.
Change is not something I often ask for, but when I have it 1) leads to more change and 2) challenges me to grow deeper with Jesus.
Change…..status, roles in life. Yearning for change without knowing it has led to lasting changes in my character (thanks to Jesus taking over more of who I am). It’s led to depth in empathy and compassion for others.
It’s led to Him shining more brightly through me.
Change is seldom something I yearn for. But, when God’s given the asked-for yearning, He’s blessed me far more richly than I could have ever imagined in the initial asking.
What about you? What’s your take on change? WHat’s one word of advice for walking through change?
Check out Kate Motaung’s FMF: Change
Jeanne Takenaka 
Oh I LOVE how you refer to the ‘change in status’. I can relate to that all too well right now!
~Your FMF Neighbor
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I suspect most of us deal with this in one way or another, don’t we? That yearning for a change in status? 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, neighbor!
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Jeanne, I have been on “hiatus” for awhile now. Lots of changes. Health. Having to quit teaching. Starting master’s degree (working on thesis now), and now moving. Leaving roots and aging parents. Leaving a daughter who wants children but who will have a high-risk pregnancy and selling my home that encompasses all I’ve ever wanted in a physical home. And we’re moving to Ft. Collins, Co. for hubby to work at a small church (parish administrator) in Windsor, Co. So much crushing in on me…I don’t like change. I like my habits. I like seeing the sycamore in my neighbor’s yard and listening to the cicadas sing while setting on the deck in the evenings. At 56 these changes are pushing me towards a different type of reliance on my Lord. Verses have new and powerful meanings. I posted Isaiah 41:10 on my computer so I can look at as I work through this academic challenge. I’m stretched but not broken. Thank you Jeanne. A timely post. Blessings.
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Wow, Cindy, those are some BIG changes. Saying goodbye to what’s familiar and comforting is difficult. My heart aches for you as you are leaving so much you love. At the same time, I know God will walk you through this season—one step, one moment at a time. I hope your master’s thesis preparations go well.
God’s word is always the best place to turn in times of huge change. I’ll be praying for you as you embark on this new chapter in your life. Isaiah 41:10 is one of my favorite verses too. Just remember to breathe.
For what it’s worth, I’ll only be a couple hours south of you! 🙂
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I haven’t always yearned for change. But when I understand the difference God wants to make in my character, I want the change. The process of change is hard at times, but I know it will be worth it in the end. Thank you for sharing your stories of change and the good that come with changing!
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I’m with you, Katy. I rarely welcome change, much less want it. 🙂 God is good to bring it about when we need it, and I LOVE that He walks through it with us. And, He makes it worthwhile, as you mentioned. 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
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I’ve never liked change, and have always subscribed to Tom Petty’s dictum – if you never slow down, you’ll never get old.
Well, God’s granting that wish, I guess. I’m not likely to grow old.
But change does happen, and while I don’t like it, I put it into the category of “it doesn’t matter if I like it or not as long as I deal with it”.
Years of studying Buddhist practice and meditation have helped (and it only strengthened my faith in Christ, if anyone’s wondering); I’ve learned, through that most Eastern of practice, to see change as fundamentally transient, the ripples driven across a pond by a passing breeze. The pond itself is perfection in stillness, and when the ripples pass, it reflects God.
In Eastern thought – and I am Asian – existence is cyclic, and not linear; the cycles ‘revolve’ around God, and while changes exist, they are not seen as fundamentally altering our experience of life, and of the Almighty.
Only WE can do that, by stepping out of the cycle, or by damming the stream that fills the pond.
And there’s another interesting analogy for change – the steam fills the pond, and another stream takes the outflow to the sea.
But the pond is the pond, unchanging in its reflection of the Lord.
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Andrew, you bring up some great points here. First of all, I like your category: “it doesn’t matter if I like it or not as long as I deal with it”. That truly describes change. It’s a question of how we deal with it, isn’t it? We can’t avoid it. At least not for very long.
Your analogy of the pond, in it’s perfection and stillness reflecting God. We can reflect God too, when change does its work within us. Hmmm, you’ve got me thinking on this one.
So glad you shared these thoughts!
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When I am troubled by change, I return to Tennyson’s “The Passing of Arthur”, from his poetic cycle “The Idylls of the King.” I hope I may be allowed a rather lengthy quotation – it also speaks to the worth of prayer.
The scene is Arthur, grievously wounded, attended by his last, faithful knight Bedivere:
Then loudly cried the bold Sir Bedivere:
“Ah! my Lord Arthur, whither shall I go? 35
Where shall I hide my forehead and my eyes?
For now I see the true old times are dead,
When every morning brought a noble chance,
And every chance brought out a noble knight.
Such times have been not since the light that led 40
The holy Elders with the gift of myrrh.
But now the whole Round Table is dissolv’d
Which was an image of the mighty world,
And I, the last, go forth companionless,
And the days darken round me, and the years, 45
Among new men, strange faces, other minds.”
And slowly answer’d Arthur from the barge:
“The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfils himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world. 50
Comfort thyself: what comfort is in me?
I have liv’d my life, and that which I have done
May He within himself make pure! but thou,
If thou shouldst never see my face again,
Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer 55
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice
Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
For what are men better than sheep or goats
That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer 60
Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
For so the whole round earth is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.
Indeed, all things must change.
But that which is essential within us need not change. Our will and our faith can and must remain constant. Again, Tennyson, from Ulysses: You may be relieved that the excerpt is shorter!
Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
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I apologise for the line numbers in “The Passing of Arthur”; I had meant to excise them, and forgot.
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Surpreet, the truth that our faith in God and will must remain constant is an important thing to remember. As I read the quote from, “The Idylls of the King,” one thing that stood out to me was the reality that nothing stays the same forever. At least not here on earth. To expect things to remain the same is to invite disillusionment. Things pass away this side of heaven, but God is constant, as is His character and His love for His children.
Thank you for this reminder!
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Jeanne, I needed to read this today. Change of routine is always a tricky one for me… never mind bigger ones. In September my husband changes over to a new job, and one of our sons will be trying online homeschooling–so change is in the air at our place.
I love your comment about how change can be an opportunity for growth. You’ve inspired me to remember that ‘I can do all things (including changes) through Christ who strengthens me’.
Blessings ~ Wendy ❀
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Wendy, those can be big changes! I hope the process goes smoothly for your family! And yes, isn’t it reassuring to know that Jesus gives us strength for all He calls us to? We can do ALL things through Him! May He be your strength in the coming weeks!
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