When the wind of change blows, some build walls while others build windmills

I love this chinese proverb!

Change is a ruthless beast. It can come as a part of a plan but more often then not change is forced upon us.

I hate change (this has a deep psychological meaning apparently but we won't go into that here and now!) I once had the same car for 12 years until the local garage gently broke the news to me that it really was time to stop trying to keep it on the road. I cried over that car going.

Changing cars is quite a small challenge, and really should be quite exciting. A new car is something that a lot of people look forward to. Even if it is usually quite a big expense.

Change usually comes at a cost, financial or personal; going on a diet, having to do more excercise, giving up smoking, giving up alcohol, moving away from a particular social circle - all have implications. Usually not very good ones. At least at first.

Another part of life we have to change frequently are our plans - when we were going in one direction and life takes us in another. So are you a wall builder or a windmill builder? Do you put up barriers for protection or do you embrace the opportunity?

Living with a vibrant faith which inspires and thrives means that challenges and changes can be met head on. With God on our side there is no need for fear - the bible says:

Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

So we can quite simply hand stuff over to God and say "here - you can deal with this God". We can also be even braver and more bold and say "inspire me! take me to a new place in my life!"

Although whatever change is going on around us might not have been in our original plan, as the saying goes "life is what happens when we are busy making other plans." The important part of change is to prosper within it and find our feet on the new ground.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Handing that life over to God is not losing control, it is standing in a great (sometimes unfamiliar and potentially overwheming) space, arms outstretched and saying "I will take this and make it brilliant".

For the Jesus geeks, you should already know those references as they are so very well used! But they are Isaiah 41:10 (New American Standard Bible) and Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)