Do you remember the first time you gave your baby a bath? I do, and it was a momentous occasion for my husband and I. As first time parents we were eager to do everything exactly right. We’d read lots of parenting books and armed with Apgar scores and a ton of advice from family and friends, we brought our baby home launched into the adventure of parenthood. We sterilized everything, and carefully controlled noise levels and temperature in our home; yes we were fanatics. If only we could have seen into the future we would have known just how “durable” the little fellow was; that he would survive stitches, broken bones and a eventually a dorm room that looked like a waste dump. But we were novices so we followed our pediatrician’s advice and gave him sponge baths for the first few days. Then the big day came. After I put a little lukewarm water into a tiny tub my husband carefully lowered our little miracle into the water. Much to our surprise, he drew his arms and legs up, let out an ear-piercing wail and let us know, in no uncertain terms that he did not like this new experience. I suppose it made sense. After all, in the course of a very few days he had been taken from the shelter of a warm, cozy womb and thrust into a bright noisy world. And now we’d immersed him into another totally new environment; water. We laugh when we think about it now, but at the time it was quite traumatic for all three of us.
Although it is laughable, it reminds me of how we adults often react to change. We are creatures of habit who do not like to have our routines disrupted. When pushed out of our comfort zones, we tend to kick and scream. We blame God, we blame our circumstances, and we even blame the government. But eventually we learn that change is part of life.
Life is full of growth opportunities and change is required for growth. As John Maxwell said,” If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.” Although our son was initially uncomfortable with the bathing experience, it wasn’t long before he learned to love it. When we allow ourselves to be open to new experiences they can be quite enjoyable and beneficial.
You probably have some favorite quotes about change. Here are a few of mine:
“Change always comes bearing gifts.” ~Price Pritchett
“Those who expect moments of change to be comfortable and free of conflict have not learned their history.” ~Joan Wallach Scott
“Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights.” ~Pauline R. Kezer
“It’s the most unhappy people who most fear change.” ~Mignon McLaughlin,
“Every single thing changes and is changing always in this world. Yet with the same light the moon goes on shining.” ~Saigyo
“Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are.” ~Bertold Brecht
“The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.” ~Japanese Proverb
“They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.” ~Confucius
“When you are through changing, you are through.” ~Bruce Barton
My absolute favorite change quote is: “God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it’s me.” ~Author Unknown
So let’s learn to accept change as an inevitable part of our lives. As people of faith we believe that God will work things out for our good. Psalm 37:23 says, “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.”
Life is full of changes, let’s embrace them!
