"The times, they are a'changing"
"There is no unending banquet under the sun." --Chinese proverb.
That's what my dad said to me a few weeks ago when I was explaining some things that were going on in my life, in the lives of people around me. Because things are still happening in real time and because it's all very sensitive, this post is written in the vaguest, most general terms.
Apparently that's also how Bob Dylan's song comes across.
The hardest thing to face, and the most consistent, is change. The past 5 years have especially highlighted to me the inevitability of change, and have transformed my responses to it.
As I grow older (30-year-old!) I realize that change is compounded and complicated by nuances and complexities of relationships both personal and professional. I learn to understand that my heroes are flawed, that my mentors have secrets, that my admiration of the present situation is not always universal, and perceptions are widely varied. Change is constantly happening to me and to those around me, and I am not always privy to the story of those around us.
We may think we know someone and some things, but it turns out that might not always be accurate.
Change swirling all around me. I have friends who are transitioning to new seasons and positions. I have colleagues contemplating next stages of professional development. I have family celebrating the beginnings and ends of life chapter. People are moving metaphorically and geographically, emotionally and professionally. I myself have some exciting news about opportunities coming my way.
There have been times the last few weeks when I have just stopped and wished that everything would stay the same. If I had it my way, my friends would always be near, we'd always do the things that were fun and enjoyable the first time because they were.
Then I think about how bored we'd all be if we stopped developing. Things change because people change, because I change. I don't actually want to stay the same me. I hope that 35-year-old Yi-Ki will be different and more than 30-year-old Yi-Ki will be. Change invites challenges and new concepts, ideas, opportunities and understanding.
I used to think about eternity: how weird it would be to just do the same things over and over again forever and ever. Then I realized that is not the heart of God! He stays the same for all time, His character and nature, His love, but He is doing new things in each of us every day. He has more and more to give, more and more to teach. I've been so interested in pondering the exciting things we may get to do in eternity in the Kingdom: will we build the craziest skyscrapers this world has never seen? Will we find wormholes and travel to the farthest universes? Will we see new and better inventions everyday? And most importantly, will we continue to discover the unending and wonderful facets of our God on a moment to moment basis?
I am learning to be happy about the changes my friends and loved ones are going through because I know that this is new adventures that God is taking them on. I am learning to be patient for the changes I wish would come now, and celebrate the changes that are already at my doorstep.
And the changes that are not so fun, those "valley of the shadow of death" (PS 23) that we must go through, even those I will meet head-on, because I am not camping there, and the journey itself is an adventure in being refined in wisdom and understanding, in maturity and growth. The destination will prove worth the effort and intentionality. I keep engaging in conversation with those around me, rally the troops to traverse through the most difficult and treacherous paths, for we are guided and comforted by the Shepherd.
Times are changing in my world. The biggest comfort I take is that these changes are not arbitrary but well planned out and carefully executed by the Sovereign Lord.
That's what my dad said to me a few weeks ago when I was explaining some things that were going on in my life, in the lives of people around me. Because things are still happening in real time and because it's all very sensitive, this post is written in the vaguest, most general terms.
Apparently that's also how Bob Dylan's song comes across.
The hardest thing to face, and the most consistent, is change. The past 5 years have especially highlighted to me the inevitability of change, and have transformed my responses to it.
As I grow older (30-year-old!) I realize that change is compounded and complicated by nuances and complexities of relationships both personal and professional. I learn to understand that my heroes are flawed, that my mentors have secrets, that my admiration of the present situation is not always universal, and perceptions are widely varied. Change is constantly happening to me and to those around me, and I am not always privy to the story of those around us.
We may think we know someone and some things, but it turns out that might not always be accurate.
Change swirling all around me. I have friends who are transitioning to new seasons and positions. I have colleagues contemplating next stages of professional development. I have family celebrating the beginnings and ends of life chapter. People are moving metaphorically and geographically, emotionally and professionally. I myself have some exciting news about opportunities coming my way.
There have been times the last few weeks when I have just stopped and wished that everything would stay the same. If I had it my way, my friends would always be near, we'd always do the things that were fun and enjoyable the first time because they were.
Then I think about how bored we'd all be if we stopped developing. Things change because people change, because I change. I don't actually want to stay the same me. I hope that 35-year-old Yi-Ki will be different and more than 30-year-old Yi-Ki will be. Change invites challenges and new concepts, ideas, opportunities and understanding.
I used to think about eternity: how weird it would be to just do the same things over and over again forever and ever. Then I realized that is not the heart of God! He stays the same for all time, His character and nature, His love, but He is doing new things in each of us every day. He has more and more to give, more and more to teach. I've been so interested in pondering the exciting things we may get to do in eternity in the Kingdom: will we build the craziest skyscrapers this world has never seen? Will we find wormholes and travel to the farthest universes? Will we see new and better inventions everyday? And most importantly, will we continue to discover the unending and wonderful facets of our God on a moment to moment basis?
I am learning to be happy about the changes my friends and loved ones are going through because I know that this is new adventures that God is taking them on. I am learning to be patient for the changes I wish would come now, and celebrate the changes that are already at my doorstep.
And the changes that are not so fun, those "valley of the shadow of death" (PS 23) that we must go through, even those I will meet head-on, because I am not camping there, and the journey itself is an adventure in being refined in wisdom and understanding, in maturity and growth. The destination will prove worth the effort and intentionality. I keep engaging in conversation with those around me, rally the troops to traverse through the most difficult and treacherous paths, for we are guided and comforted by the Shepherd.
Times are changing in my world. The biggest comfort I take is that these changes are not arbitrary but well planned out and carefully executed by the Sovereign Lord.
Comments
Post a Comment