Undergoing Change (how dread becomes delight)
In a matter of about twenty-five hours, life drastically changed. When I left my middle-class American home at 10:23am, it was about 30 degrees Fahrenheit. When I got off the plane in Burkina Faso the next day, the 30 degree Celsius temperature (a quite cool 70s Fahrenheit) hit me like a fresh desert breeze in the face, carrying the smell of dirt and sand with it. I went from snowy to dusty, pavement to dirt, pants to skirts, English to French, advancement to development, fast-paced to slow-paced, individualistic to community, primarily white to mostly black, processed grocery store foods to natural earthy foods. A climate change, diet change, clothing change, environment change, language change, and culture change occurred in the span of one day. It's about as close to time travel as you can get.
The first time everything changed so fast was two years ago when I moved to Burkina Faso on a one-way plane ticket. Since then, the coming and going along with the instant and drastic changes it brings each time have become a little easier. Maybe it is because the mystery is removed to some extent, and I know what to expect - both in returning to the United States and coming to Burkina. Maybe it feels easier because I am learning to adapt to and cope with the change. Though the mystery has lessened, the strikingness and adventure remains, and I never cease to be amazed by how quickly things can change. And by how much I love aspects of both cultures,
I wonder why we tend to avoid change when it is so, so good for us. Nobody likes change, right? Almost every time we go through significant change, we complain about it and struggle through it until in some way or another our eyes are opened to see the value in it. Somehow, we end up seeing that change is good; we even become thankful for it. But then when the next big change comes around, we still dread it. I realize this is a generalized rule, but the point remains. Change is hard, yet we know it is good because it grows us, challenges us, teaches us, shapes us. How boring, uneventful, and motionless would life be without change, really? Change introduces us to new people and places. Change leads us to experiences we would have never dreamed of before. More spiritually, it draws us closer into dependency on Christ and trust in God. It strengthens our faith and relationship with him.
That is why I'm trying to transform the dread associated with change into delight, and I'm inviting you to do it with me.
Our inspiration? Jesus himself. This is what Jesus did - incarnation, becoming like those unlike him in order to serve, love, and ultimately save them...to save us. He underwent the most drastic change ever, God became a man. This was the biggest cultural barrier ever crossed, the best example we have of incarnational mission, and it is also the single most important event that impacts our lives.
Can I give you a challenge? Maybe a better way of saying it is, may I invite you to participate in a challenge with me?
Let's embrace change. Whatever big change you may have going in in your life, we have a choice to either wallow in it or dance upon it; I pray that God gives us the courage and light-footedness to dance.
Let's also engage with people who are unlike us. Cross a cultural line or perhaps a comfort zone line. Follow the footsteps of Jesus as he reached out to the marginalized.
It may take a little time for my skin to adjust to the heat and for my stomach to adjust to the food. It may take a little time to adjust to the time change and culture change. But my heart is ready for the change. Ready to start fresh, ready to make a new commitment, and ready to pursue this new goal of living life on mission.
The first time everything changed so fast was two years ago when I moved to Burkina Faso on a one-way plane ticket. Since then, the coming and going along with the instant and drastic changes it brings each time have become a little easier. Maybe it is because the mystery is removed to some extent, and I know what to expect - both in returning to the United States and coming to Burkina. Maybe it feels easier because I am learning to adapt to and cope with the change. Though the mystery has lessened, the strikingness and adventure remains, and I never cease to be amazed by how quickly things can change. And by how much I love aspects of both cultures,
I wonder why we tend to avoid change when it is so, so good for us. Nobody likes change, right? Almost every time we go through significant change, we complain about it and struggle through it until in some way or another our eyes are opened to see the value in it. Somehow, we end up seeing that change is good; we even become thankful for it. But then when the next big change comes around, we still dread it. I realize this is a generalized rule, but the point remains. Change is hard, yet we know it is good because it grows us, challenges us, teaches us, shapes us. How boring, uneventful, and motionless would life be without change, really? Change introduces us to new people and places. Change leads us to experiences we would have never dreamed of before. More spiritually, it draws us closer into dependency on Christ and trust in God. It strengthens our faith and relationship with him.
That is why I'm trying to transform the dread associated with change into delight, and I'm inviting you to do it with me.
Our inspiration? Jesus himself. This is what Jesus did - incarnation, becoming like those unlike him in order to serve, love, and ultimately save them...to save us. He underwent the most drastic change ever, God became a man. This was the biggest cultural barrier ever crossed, the best example we have of incarnational mission, and it is also the single most important event that impacts our lives.
Can I give you a challenge? Maybe a better way of saying it is, may I invite you to participate in a challenge with me?
Let's embrace change. Whatever big change you may have going in in your life, we have a choice to either wallow in it or dance upon it; I pray that God gives us the courage and light-footedness to dance.
Let's also engage with people who are unlike us. Cross a cultural line or perhaps a comfort zone line. Follow the footsteps of Jesus as he reached out to the marginalized.
It may take a little time for my skin to adjust to the heat and for my stomach to adjust to the food. It may take a little time to adjust to the time change and culture change. But my heart is ready for the change. Ready to start fresh, ready to make a new commitment, and ready to pursue this new goal of living life on mission.
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