The Speed of Change

As I was driving the other day and seeing all the beauty in the changing colors of the trees, I realized something. When a tree begins to change colors, it doesn’t happen all at once. All the leaves on a tree don’t change at the exact same time, all the trees in an area don’t change at the same speed, and when the leaves begin to fall, they don’t all fall at once either. This made me start to think about how this applies to life and I quickly became lost in the realization that I made. Big changes don’t happen all at once and people in the same group don’t change at the same time.

Life is full of change. I’ve heard it said that “The one thing you can count on is change!” It’s inevitable that change will occur in each of our lives. Sometimes is something minor and other times it’s something major. In either situation, everyone impacted by the change will not respond exactly the same or in the same amount of time. Like the trees when the weather begins to change, people — even if they’re apart of the same “tree” — will change at their own pace. I’ve noticed that some leaves on the trees are still holding on to their green summer color — almost as if they’re reluctant to give in to the inevitable change of the temperature. I’ve also noticed that some leaves have changed, died, and fallen to the ground — almost as if at the first sign of change in temperature they quickly moved from green to brown without taking much time to enjoy the process. Then we have the leaves that are changing slowly, holding on to the beauty their changing colors bring — almost as if they’re embracing the change. They aren’t rushing to fall to the ground, nor are they refusing to change by holding on to their summer green. These are the leaves that cause many people to stop and admire, go on a color tour, or photograph because they are so beautiful! I think this analogy works for people too.

When change comes, there are those like the green leaves who try to hold on to the past. They know the inevitable is coming, but they aren’t ready to move on to the next season quite yet. There are those who, like the fallen leaves, move through change rapidly when it comes and they don’t seem to realize that there is beauty to be found in the change. Lastly, there are those who, like the leaves that change slowly, go through change in a beautiful process that leads people to stop and admire them. These people show what beauty can be found in embracing the changing of seasons without rushing through. They take their time to process what is in the past and prepare for the future. These people live in the moment. They remain present in each part of the change.

I realize that this analogy isn’t perfect and I know that it could be picked apart because not all change is good, but the point I’m trying to make is that we need to encourage people to go through change with beauty. To recognize that there are times for many different seasons. I think of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, which says, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.”

I think that in each of these instances, one has the opportunity to go through it with grace and beauty, to try and rush through it, or to try and hold on to the past season for too long. There is a time for change and when we find ourselves in that time, I hope that we can hold on to God and walk through it in a way that allows others to see God in us. That they might stop and admire the beauty as we change well. I hope that we’re able to stay in the moment and be present as we go through life and all of its changes.

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Song of the Week: This week I chose “Keep me in the Moment” by Jeremy Camp because I think that’s where the beauty in change is found. Enjoy!