I recently went through a time when life held more changes than I felt able to deal with. Our daughter had recently married, problems had forced us to change our church membership, my husband’s parents were living with us, and our son was away doing ministry work which set aside our family music ministry. These changes, along with an early “change of life” at age 42 became overwhelming and I began to see these changes as losses. I felt bad for feeling down about my problems when others around me had real serious problems of their own. Yet, I couldn’t help how I was feeling. I didn’t like these changes; I certainly couldn’t control these changes.
Quite by accident, I discovered a diversion that made me forget these changes for a few minutes. It was a puzzle on my husbands’ electronic organizer called Tetris. The computer sends seven geometric shapes in random order and you manipulate them into rows, trying not to leave holes. I played Tetris as a stress reliever, a challenge, and a time to think about an inanimate problem for just a few minutes. As I played the game, faltering at the beginning, I found myself laughing at the circumstances of the puzzle and forgetting those concerns that seemed so big just a few minutes before. Before long, I had come to where I could look ahead to the next piece and place the current piece so the next piece would fit. I learned that the purpose of Tetris is making the most of the pieces the computer sends you.
Then it occurred to me that life is similar to that computer puzzle. God sends us every day and each situation for a reason and it’s up to us how we use these in our life to God’s honor and glory. We have to take the pieces of life, the good, the bad, the change and all, just as God sends the pieces. Change is a part of life whether I like it or not it’s what I do with it that matters.
We definitely have an edge over a computer game that randomly sends pieces. I found temporary diversion in a puzzle and I even learned something. But I found peace in a relationship with Jesus, a God whose love never changes. Our loving heavenly Father knows just what change we need next and He sends only what is best for us.
“Father, help me to accept the changes in life gracefully, knowing that You and Your love for me will never change.”
©
2001 ~ Judy Shewmake