Guest Blogger, K.J. Tanner
Change. That word often strikes fear into our hearts. After all, some changes are traumatic: loss of a job, a move across the country, a broken marriage. Many are hard: a necessary change in diet, starting a new school, adjusting to life with a new baby. And some are just plain annoying: We’re changing the software/process/structure again??
A simple internet search for the word change brings up articles such as “What Makes Change Difficult?” “5 Tips for Dealing with Change,” and “How to Become More Comfortable with Change.” So it’s no wonder I struggle to remember that change can be good. You too?
A few months ago, my son and I took a trip to Detroit to see his eye specialist. He was diagnosed with Coats disease in 2022. He had eye surgery and was told he’d need to be seen four times a year because this is a progressive disease. For many people, it means multiple surgeries. It took time and money to adjust to this new reality, but we fell into a rhythm.
Then came the recent appointment. His eye looked good. And because he’d had several appointments where his condition had been stable, the doctor said my son could go from being seen four times a year to only twice, one of those visits being his annual checkup with the intown ophthalmologist. “Wait, you mean we only have to drive across the state once a year instead of four times?” This was great news about his physical health, but it was good for our emotional and financial health as well. It was so good. It was better than I could have imagined. I didn’t even know this was a possibility; I had assumed he’d be seen quarterly for the rest of his life.
This reminded me of Ephesians 3:20, which tells us that God is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.”
Almost exactly a year before, I had been a wreck after this same appointment in Detroit. That time, my son had a meltdown and refused to do the necessary tests. So the doctor said we had to come back another day and do the test under general anesthesia at the hospital. I could have crumpled to the floor. This time, as we drove home on the long stretch of highway, I was giddy and grateful, floating and flying like a helium balloon. Change can be good? Yes, oh, yes. What a difference a year can make.
Thinking back, I can sometimes see how even a hard change was good. Changing schools midway through the year? Seemed horrendous at the time, but the new school was so much better! Suddenly having a new boss? That change too was hard but good. What about you? Spend a few minutes thinking of some good changes (A new coffee shop is going in around the corner!) or trying to see the good that came from a hard change (That diet change sure has helped me feel better.). Let’s remember together: change can be good