Love Learn Lead October 5, 2017

Ever feel like some seasons sneak up on you? Like one day you are worrying about sunscreen and the next, you’re trudging through a field looking for the best looking pumpkin. Or, we just begin to enjoy fall, and all the stores start bringing out their Christmas line. I have to admit, that’s how I am feeling this fall.

Part of it has to do with going on vacation right at the beginning of September. While my friends were putting their kids back on the school bus, we were still very much in summer mode. But then the day we got back, we stopped at the store for eggs and bananas, and were greeted at the door with apples, pumpkins, and the smell of cinnamon. My brain had to take a moment to catch up.

“Oh, yeah—it’s fall,” I said to Tony, as we headed for the produce section.

Some seasons have a way of changing overnight. Or in our case, over our vacation. As they say, “Time marches on,” and all of that. But the changing of seasons, aren’t the only changes in life that have a way of surprising us or throwing us off our game. In fact, even the mere possibility of change, can make it feel as if the ground is shaking under us.

For this reason, as we watch the leaves change on the trees outside, on the blog we will be talking about the changes that happen in our lives and inside of us. Today, I am sharing a song I love, something I am learning about change, and quote that is important to remember when we long for change in our world.

Happy fall!

Love

If we were to have a soundtrack for this month’s theme of Change, the first song on it would be Every Mile Mattered, by Nichole Nordeman. The first song on her latest album by the same name, this song speaks to the importance of our past in seeking out our future. In life, there are changes we can’t plan, but there are also the changes we know we want to make within ourselves. The way we process, heal, and grow from our past plays an important role in changing our lives. Check it out, and tell me:

What other songs would you add to our October soundtrack on Change?

Learn

As I share on my About page, I am a person who has been told numerous times that I hate change—and yet, like many people, my life has been full of it. In my opinion, the worst part of change, is always the beginning. It’s the not knowing how things are going to turn out or all the little changes that may accompany the big ones. Combine this not knowing with an overactive imagination with a bent towards the negative, and my thought life—during times of change—is a lot of fun.

But what I am learning through these seasons, is that often the changes I wouldn’t have chosen or planned, are the ones that take me places—inwardly and outwardly—that I never thought I’d go. They are the ones that help me grow and discover more of who God has created me to be. In times of change, I am learning to remember this. When my imagination wants to go wild with all that could be bad, I am beginning to remember all that could be good.

What have you learned about change?

How has it brought good into your life?

Lead

I’m convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere. For a change, start by speaking to people rather than walking by them like they’re stones that don’t matter. As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to do some good.

—Maya Angelou

We all want our world to change, but very often we don’t know our part or where to start. If you’re in this position, I’m thinking, Ms. Angelou’s advice is a great place.