As I write this, it is the last week of August. From where I sit in my study, I can see red leaves on a plum tree, and leaves on the oak trees are developing a pale green color. Just a few days ago all those leaves were dark green.

It is the cycle of life for leaves. Sometime in January, if you are looking you find tiny buds beginning to appear on bare tree branches. As the days grow longer and warmer the buds become more noticeable. In March and April the buds will explode covering everything with a yellow dust and filling the air with the sound of sneezes.

Then suddenly the trees are filled with tiny green leaves that grow until they reach their peak. Around the middle of June the dark green leaves that cover the trees will almost make you forget that their branches were ever bare and lifeless looking. But only for a few days, by the middle of August you will see red leaves on the plum trees and leaves on the oak trees will have a pale green color to them. That is the life cycle of leaves. Change is constant and change is relentless.

That is the same with all aspects of life. Nothing ever stays the same. It is a fact of life. Change is inevitable. So, is change good or bad? Well change is challenging. Sometimes it brings pain sometimes it brings joy. But whether or not it is good or bad depends on your attitude.

Most people handle change in one of three ways. Some people try to stop it or hinder its progress and they end up being steam rolled by it. Others simply ignore it or pretend like it is not going to happen. These people become irrelevant as everything sidesteps them and keeps moving.

Rational people realize that you cannot stop nor avoid change. The best thing to do is prepare for it. Wise people also understand that change in itself is neither good nor bad it is just the course of nature. Smart people will accept it, adapt to it and harness it to accomplish the most with it.

It is a truth that the only thing that is unchangeable is God and His Kingdom. For that reason He has told us that we should, “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed “changed” by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1–2)

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where the Pavement Ends