Written by: gfesadmin on April 12, 2013

Sometimes, like many members in my family, I find it amusing and comical to watch people as they stroll through the mall with purpose, wondering aimlessly, enjoying their companions, or simply treating themselves to a snack as they do life with the people in their circles. What is true for every person that I see in the mall, including myself is that life constantly serves us both seen and unseen changes. We see our physical features morph with age. Children grow up and relationships get sweeter as they evolve. At the same time, we hear of changes in the workplace, church, and the family structure and somehow feel the need to control, oppose, or simply view such change as the enemy. What if we viewed the unseen changes as invisible newness or an opportunity to discover uncharted territory that we have not yet calculated? In other words, what would happen if we simply allowed the invisible changes to lead us down a road not yet traveled with the thought of something good in the horizon?

Change happens with or without us. The author helps us move away from controlling change and seeing it only as an enemy. Margaret Wheatley in her book, Leadership and the New Science, challenges us to shift our paradigm about fearing change to embracing and accepting it as a possible new start and recognizing change itself as a capacity that can deliver good and successful outcomes.

One of the most difficult areas to see change in the best light is in leadership transition. Whether it is a new immediate boss in the workplace or a new pastor of a local congregation, change by default tends to make us all a little apprehensive. When it comes to our emotional responses to unseen change, Wheatly suggests that we shift what we are looking for. Naturally, change becomes the fear of the unknown, actions of self-preservation, unfair and sometimes misinformed mental processes, or simply seeing change as the enemy rather than a new start. Changes in life can often offer a new start that is hopeful, successful, and possibly provide exactly what one has always imagined. May we start taking on a new perception of change and shift our focus to the new possibilities it can bring that we may not recognize or receive any other way. Change is inevitable. It is not be feared. Change, if reimagined, can change our lives for the best. What exactly are you looking for in your season change?

 In conclusion, change happens with or without us. While we cannot change what happens tomorrow or know what changes will take place tomorrow, we can be at peace in knowing that God is not caught off guard by the changes in our lives. In fact, he holds us and changes in tomorrow in the palm of his hands. We can do all things through him that gives us strength. That includes being flexible with the changes in life and looking forward to best possible outcome.

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