Change Isn't Always Easy

Growing up, change wasn’t always easy. It felt hard, uncomfortable, and left me with a sick and lonely feeling inside. On my first day of high school, I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I cried as I said goodbye to my mum at the car. The thought of a new place and new people wasn’t “scary” as such, I was looking forward to making new friends, meeting new teachers, and learning new things. But the thought of leaving everything I knew behind was daunting. What if this high school thing wasn’t what I was expecting it to be? What if the change wasn’t so good after all?

The thing with change is that, well, it is inevitable. Things in life never stay the same. Houses get developed on land that used to be covered in farmland or bush. New technologies and ways of doing things are created. People grow up and move on. In the same minute there is new life beginning and someone else’s life ending. Even nature itself demonstrates that God has built change into our world as we experience the different seasons. Without change we would stagnate. Growth requires change. We move from one way of being and doing, to another.

As we enter spring, I am reminded of the beauty of change as caterpillars metamorphosise into butterflies. That process is slow (sometimes painfully slow for a child waiting to see the grand reveal). Yet, the gradual changing of the chrysalis reminds us that change is happening even when we cannot see it in its fullness. Though the butterfly’s emergence from its cocoon is a thing of beauty, it is still not easy. It wrestles to get out from its trappings and then must sit, vulnerable, as it straightens out and dries its wings. When it finally takes flight, it is beauty of a new kind. Change is not easy, but it is beautiful.

We are each in a world of change. Both as individuals and as a community. This may be exciting, scary, daunting, sad, or a mix of a million different emotions. And that is ok. As we look outside and see the beauty of the flower about to burst into bloom, the sun peaking through the clouds, let us remember that God has created us for change, and to be part of change. We are called to bring about change and new hope into this world. Change is not always easy, but it is beautiful.