Change
Change is probably the hardest word to describe or define. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary “change” could be a noun or a verb; and then either a transitive or an intransitive verb with several definitions and meanings under each definition. I hope you continue reading. 
Just so you know up front, I do not necessarily endorse or approve every quote that I am about to share or every person accredited to that quote, but just want to share some quotes that are out there about change: “Be the change you want to see in the world” Mahatma Gandhi, “Don’t fear change–embrace it” Anthony J D’Angelo, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference” Reinhold Niebuhr, and “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished” Benjamin Franklin. Change can be a positive thing and it can be a negative thing, and change can be easy for some to deal with and it can be hard for others, I believe that our success or our failures in change depend on who or what we place our trust on.
The Bible tells a story of a man named Abraham who experienced a lot of change in his life; from God changing his name from Abram to Abraham and his wife’s name from Sarai to Sarah, from God telling Abraham to leave his home and his land to go to a place where God would show him, from Abraham not having any kids until the very old age of 100, to then God asking him some time later to sacrifice him, Isaac his only son, as a burnt offering only to be stopped by God later, after he passed his test and then God provided a ram for the sacrifice, from marrying a wife who was unable to conceive to later being known as the “father of many nations” and so on. The thing that made Abraham the “father of many nations” and so blessed by God was that in all that change Abraham “believed God” (Genesis 15:6) he trusted God, he obeyed God, and he put his hope in God.
I sometimes feel like Abraham in that there is so much change in my life and change in the lives of those around me. I mean just look at some of the places that I have lived since I was born; from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, to Navojoa, to Ciudad Juarez, to Canby, MN, to El Paso, TX, to Waxahachie, TX, to Springfield, MO and probably more than 20 different homes in all those moves. There has been so much change in my life! I have experienced a lot of change since moving to Missouri, and here recently there has been a lot of change in my life, my job, and some of my decisions for the future. I don’t have time in this post to write about all that change, but I thank God that I too have learned to trust God, obey God, believe God, and to put my hope in God as Abraham did. That is called “Faith.” Our hope in God, who is the eternal, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, who is the author and perfecter of our faith, who gave us his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him will have eternal life, who made us in his image and likeness, who chose us before the creation of the world, our hope in Him does not disappoint!
I want to encourage you and challenge you to trust in God today! Make him Lord of your life and of all that change that is going on in your life. Trust him to get you through it all and listen to his guidance and obey his word. Believe that he has a purpose for everything in your life and give him full control of it all. Put your hope in him knowing that he loves you and that nothing can separate us from his love. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways (and in all the change) acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).
I, too, have experienced so much change in my life, especially in the last 5 years. I went from a job that I had held for 20 years and was very comfortable in, thought that I would retire from to being unemployed. Having to job hunt at 57 years old was a real experience! But now I know that it was God’s will, otherwise, I would never have had the blessing of working here at GPH and working with all these wonderful Christian friends! Anyone that has known me since I’ve begun working at GPH knows that I’ve experienced a lot of change since I began working here. I’ve grown through all of it.