Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

Boy, a lot can change in a couple of months.

I turned 21.

I moved to Midland.

On the road with Nana (my car) and Dasha (my matryoshka).

I started two new jobs. (And they're both fun. Score.)

My cousin Natalie is growing up and graduating high school...

Gorgeous Natalie and me at her senior oral presentation.

Whoa.

Change....
Change is part of life. Everybody experiences it. I've had what seems like a deluge of change in my life this year. But, as God has drilled into my head, life is pretty unexpected. We can be burdened by changes, or we can embrace them with gratitude.
The Lord has this funny way of talking to me. In the past month or two, the same life lesson has appeared in front of me in lots of different ways. Whether it's been through a book, through my cousin's senior thesis, or through a small group study, these things are echoed: Hold on to faith. Take the unexpected and thank God for it. Depend on Him.

I recently read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Hey, you, reader. Yeah, you: Go buy/borrow a copy. Yes, even if you're a guy, just take off the dust cover and it won't look so girly. :) Her story really touched me. The theme of her book is giving thanks for God's gifts in our lives. Thankfulness for the good and thankfulness for the bad. Thankfulness for the mundane and thankfulness for the grand-in-scale. The word for giving thanks in Greek is εὐχαριστέω. Eucharisteo. I now have a note on my iPhone dedicated to my very own 1,000 gifts. I learned rather quickly that it is really difficult to jot down the hurtful or annoying things that happen around me. But, those things challenge me to search for the good in every situation. I get the chance to open my eyes to the truth that "...in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28, emphasis added)

Even when things don't happen as planned, we Christ-followers can remain hopeful. Take my recent move for example: it was a rather spur-of-the-moment decision, brought upon by a situation in my family. I've come to help take care of my grandma part-time because she needs a bit more assistance here and there. It was quite a unique opportunity to serve my family, and to also get unstuck from the bit of the rut I slipped back into this semester. It was kinda scary to move a few hundred miles away to a place I've never lived! Seriously, the decision and the move took place within a couple weeks. Crazy? A little. But let me tell ya: what a blessing it has been! God plopped this opportunity right in my lap, and I mustered up enough courage to say "Yes!" to him. (Okay, it wasn't an emphatic yes...more like an, "Uh, are you sure, Lord? I guess I can try this...") I pushed away my fear and feelings of uncertainty, and I went for it! I have been so encouraged by it all. Change of pace, change of scenery, change of my outlook. It has been easy to thank God for these changes.

What about the times when we don't want to give thanks? What do we do when bad stuff happens? To borrow a quote from one of my very favorite movies (The Princess Bride), "Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something." Life happens, and often it's painful. Sure, a life of following Christ brings lots of joy, but it doesn't eliminate trials. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds..." (James 1:2, emphasis added) We are told in scripture that we will experience trials in our lives, it's not an if statement. So how do we turn our trials into joy? By giving thanks. Eucharisteo. Easier said than done.

I'm naturally self-focused. When something bad happens, I automatically think, why did this happen to me? Those last two words say a lot: "to me." But my view of this world is far narrower than God's view. He sees all and knows all. It's rather silly to throw myself a pity party about something unexpected that I don't like. What I ought to do is step back and examine what God wants me to learn out of these situations. What does he have up his sleeve? He tends to work in ways that are unpredictable to us. He often works in ways that we only see in hindsight. I have to break my habit of selfishness in order to give thanks for the bad, scary stuff. All of it is God's grace.

Natalie's senior thesis was about expectations. She made the case that the only things we can completely rely on are truths of God: God is faithful, and God is good. One of her illustrations of correct expectations came from the book of Daniel: the story of Shadrach Meshach, and Abednego. These three men trusted God in the face of death. They believed that God would be faithful and that he would use their situation for his glory.

"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O King. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."  

-Daniel 3:17-18

God did his little echo trick with this story. It came up in my bible study the week after Natalie's oral. The author of the study, Jennifer Rothschild, pointed out the significance of how God saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: he didn't deliver them from the fiery furnace- he delivered them through the fiery furnace. God was completely capable of sending a downpour from heaven to put out the blaze, but he chose for his servants to walk into the fire and come out unscathed. Rothschild likened this to our unexpected trials. Sometimes God allows us to walk through trials rather than delivering us from them. When tough stuff happens, our characters are refined, and if we pay attention, we learn more about God's character.

When change comes my way (and there is always more in store), I want to remember these lessons! Gratitude, faith, dependence on the Lord.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Upcoming ch-ch-changes:

My cousin Julie is coming home from A&M soon! I can't wait to be living with both of my favorite girl cousins this summer!

And, the best news of late: 

It's for real, guys. I'm readmitted to Texas Tech University for fall 2012. BACK TO LUBBOCK!

Elation! Joy! Big smiles! Cue Tech fight song! :)

Thanking God for all that he gives me!

-Laura