Monday, April 25, 2011

Change is a Grinder

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
         From where shall my help come?
    2My help comes from the LORD,
         Who made heaven and earth. 
-- Psalm 121:1-2
There is a monotony to change that sometimes feels like one is in a life grinder.  I was lying in bed this morning lamenting in my head about why things have to keep changing.  Just when all the pieces seem to be aligned and things are sailing gracefully along, some glitch occurs and all the pieces bounce into a chaos that lingers for longer always than the graceful part lasts.  I was praying about this - wishing out loud in my pitiful prayer voice that it wasn't this way - and God put His big foot out and tripped me.  On PURPOSE He tripped me!  Boom!
  Flat on my face I went.  Then, standing there with His hands on His hips and staring me in the eye nose to nose God said, "Things don't exactly go according to any plan for me either!  I can't eliminate change when it's happening to me too.  Anytime something involves a human being things are going to change.  It's a universal law affecting Me as well.  The Garden of Eden didn't go according to My plan.  That trip Moses took up Sinai didn't go according to plan.  My own son's life did not go according to plan.  In every case with human beings changing to cope with the wrinkles that get thrown at us is necessary!  So refraineth thou from whining, please."  Sigh.  Pause.  Double sigh.

Change can be thought of as a grinder.  It sharpens and hones our edges.  It knocks off the rust and sparkles us up like new..  Changes sometimes cut too deeply requiring a lot of work to smooth back out the edge.  I like to think of God as the one holding tightly and positioning us in this grinder called change.  I'm grateful God doesn't let go of me.  If I was just an ax flying through eternity on my own what would become of me?  I'd grow dull and rusty and aimlessly crash in a heap across the pond of life, stuck in the mud.  Instead, God holds firm to the handle, my handle, and keeps working on me, even when I've been the one beating myself on rocks and nails.  Thanks be to God for having a firm grip!      

1 comment:

  1. Wow! Thanks for the reminder. I've been feeling much the same way - not necessarily about change, but the overwhelm feeling that frequently keeps me by the throat. I can now imagine God standing there yelling at me in much the same way. Thanks, Mark.

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