Small Changes Can Create Beautiful Results

Small changes can create beautiful results.

We had a homecoming celebration at our church yesterday and the guest preacher who is now a district superintendent, used to be the senior pastor. So, it was a homecoming of sorts, for him too. He made the comment that he saw many familiar faces and many new ones as well. He went on to say that many people were sitting in the same exact pew that they were sitting in back in 1998. That comment, of course, drew laughter as it was intended to, but that got me to thinking about things like, sitting in the same place for over a decade.

We regular churchgoers have a tendency to do that. We stake out a spot and sit there Sunday after Sunday. If we are honest, we get annoyed if we walk in late and find someone else in our spot. Do we feel that we own that particular spot? Would the message be different at some other location in the church?

One of our dear church family members, sat with our family a few months back, because his wife was out of town. He sits very near the back and we sit very near the front. He made the comment that it was an entire new experience sitting that close to the front. He also went on to say that he was pretty sure that he would never convince his wife to change pews. They have been members close to thirty years, so I can’t say that I was surprised.

Today, we had three church services combined into one. Where everyone would sit, was completely thrown up into the air, but apparently some folks were able to find their same 1998, spot.

What is it about people that make us dig into where we feel comfortable and refuse to move? There are those who welcome change and every new challenge that comes along, but many of us seem to be happy right where we are, thank-you very much.

We have evidence of this in Biblical times. The Israelites were willing to go back to Egypt as slaves instead of trusting God to feed them. They also were unable to trust God to conquer the people already in the Promised Land and had to wander in the wilderness for forty years.

Once we get comfortable somewhere, good or bad, we seem very hesitant to change the status quo. So, we stay in the job we hate or in a church that doesn’t feed us. We don’t try to make our relationships better. We put off that diet or exercising, for another day. We settle for less.

Why? Maybe we are afraid of the unknown. Even when something is bad, at least we know what it is. Maybe we aren’t trusting God to help us to make better choices and changes. How do we know we can trust Him? Reading and trying to understand the Bible is a great start. God loves His people and seeks a relationship with them. He is delighted when we seek Him and He will light our way and guide us.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not big on change simply for the sake of change. There are some things in everyone’s lives that work beautifully, just the way they are. Those things are blessings and we should give thanks for them. But, if there are things that aren’t working well, we shouldn’t be afraid to change them.

We have to trust God and know that even making small changes sometimes changes our entire perspective on life and that’s a good thing. So, look around; if you feel stuck or stagnant in some area of your life, pray about it. It may be time for a change. Who knows, the new view may be spectacular.

How do you do with change? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂