Change

I have been thinking about change alot lately. Not the kind in your pocket, but the act of doing certain things to create a different outcome, result, or atmosphere.

I recently saw a Rubik's Cube sitting on a person's desk and it made me think back to years ago when it was all the rage. I remember how frustrated I got trying to figure it out. I remember that I could get one side to be all the same color but I could never get beyond that. I remember tearing it apart many times and putting it back together by colors just to end my discouragement. These thoughts have been stirring...so I am going to try to arrange some words to match my thoughts. (This has been very difficult as of late)

First of all I discovered or remembered that some things just can't be changed. The center square on each side of the cube always remained the same. I couldn't change that. The center square dictated the moves that would be required to solve the puzzle. It determined where I would put the pieces when I was reassembling it. So many times I am wasting time trying to change the things that can't be changed. Things like the past, God's will, or other peoples hearts. I need to recognize and focus on the things that can be changed and then change those things to come in alignment with the unchangeable. Make sense? Probably not. But hey...I can't change that.

Secondly, it was revealed that I can't just change one square. If I want to make a move, twelve squares have to be moved at one time. Every change I make has multiple results whether I plan it or want it or not. When we make changes in our homes, our work, our ministry, our lives I would argue that the same results will happen. When we choose to do things differently, that choice will impact other areas of our lives and other people in our lives that are connected directly or indirectly. Whether we recognize it or not, change effects more than the initial thing we change. Make sense? Probably not. But hey...

Finally, getting one side of the cube all the same color isn't all that difficult, but progress beyond that point will require losing part of that accomplishment. Part of the reason I failed to ever solve the cube was the fact that I couldn't destroy the beauty of what I had first achieved. I chose to cling to the lovely but unfinished work and as a result sacrificed what I could have obtained. Like I have heard so many times, we sacrifice the great by settling for the good. Sometimes we have to destroy what was good to achieve something better. Make sense? ...

So what are you trying to change that is unchangeable? What should you change and what, who, and how is it going to impact? Are you willing to sacrifice what's good for the opportunity to attain what's better? Are you ready for a change?