Have you ever been through a major life change? Well – maybe not even major, but some change that prompt friends to ask, “How did it go?” I’ve been asked that by many of my friends. When a major change takes place in life, inquiring friends want to know “How did it go?” and what else can we say except, “It’s different.” That’s a good place to start. I saw a book once titled, Change is Good. You Go First. That about describes it. Sometimes change is forced on us and in those times, change doesn’t seem good at all. Other times we make a decision that changes the landscape of our lives and we think this change is good, we hope this change is good. No matter which description fits the situation, the one thing we can control is our attitude. Chuck Swindoll has a famous quote about attitude and in it he says, ´I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” So how did it go? It’s different, but it’s good, the possibilities are ahead and we can decide to have joy and remember – we are never on the path alone.
When change comes, we have to accept it, because it’s our new normal. It’s reality. We could fret over what we no longer have or we can begin the rebuilding process and start the remanufacture of our life from a different vantage point. When I was in my early twenties, someone wisely convinced me that change is neither good nor bad, it’s only different. It took awhile for that to sink in, but it’s become my survival mechanism.
Are you going through changes now that are exciting and you anticipate better days ahead? Or do you approach each day, tentatively out of dread or even fear for what lies ahead? Either way, when change comes, it means adjustment … day-by-day, moment-by-moment. How can we get through these moments and come out the victor instead of the victim? Attitude is where it starts. We might come to the starting line kicking and screaming, toting a long list of disadvantages and (gasp) even grievances. Acknowledgement is good. Bring that list along because this is where we start making adjustments. First in our attitude, then in our thoughts, then in our actions, and finally in our acceptance. Change is neither good nor bad, it’s only different. ´I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.”
We might not be happy, but we can have joy. Happiness comes from the external; those situations that we perceive as good give us happiness. But happiness can be shattered in an instant, or it can fade when circumstances are less than optimistic. Joy on the other hand comes from the inside and is unaffected by the beating we take by those things that cause us despair. I was having a bad spell in my life a while ago and on one of my ‘least optimistic days’ someone said to me that I was the happiest person she knew. Well huh! Mission accomplished then, because at that moment, I was anything but happy. We can fake happiness by exuding joy, I guess. When she said that to me, I prayed right then and thanked God for masking the unhappiness I was feeling at that time, so joy was evident.
What can we all do today, regardless of our circumstances, to make a big production of our joy? Think it, act it, believe it!
Psalm 30:5 (NIV) For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Proverbs 29:6 (NIV) Evildoers are snared by their own sin, but the righteous shout for joy and are glad.
Proverbs 10:28 (NIV) The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come crashing down.
Ecclesiastes 8:15 (NIV) So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.
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