Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Changes

Spotted on Facebook and shared with me by a friend:
You hear Osama is dead with no proof of a body and you celebrate. You hear Christ died and rose with no proof of a body and you speculate?

Man, has a lot happened since my last blog on Wednesday. Tornadoes have left a 375 mile track of destruction through the Southeast. Fires have burned much of Texas. Flood waters are ravaging towns up and down the Mississippi. The two decade long game of "hide-and-seek" with bin Laden has come to an end (USA-1, bin Laden-...never mind, game over). And as we are fast approaching summer, we are waking up to forty degree temperatures in Franklin...just a day after it was in the mid-eighties here.

Changes are all around us. My sister was digging through some old photos looking for something recently and came across some pictures of Josh. She forwarded them to me. Flashing from the screen were those amazing blue eyes and that precious grin. In one picture, my mom was holding him and I thought about how much had changed for all of us since that day. Her husband gone. My wife and son gone. Harrison and Abby much older and--in their mind--much wiser. Remarried, new children, new town, new job.

No matter what, changes come. To resist them is like standing waist deep in the ocean trying to keep the waves from hitting the beach. You may disrupt a few waves but the ocean still comes...and comes. Rather than resisting the waves--or the changes--it's usually easier and more fun to learn to ride whatever wave life brings you. I can tell you that you won't like every wave. Some will take you places you didn't want to go. Others will push you into uncomfortable positions. But many will give you the ride you desired. They will enable you to see things you never could and to feel things you once thought impossible.

Yes, change is inevitable. We very seldom want to embrace it. But in embracing change we are able to embrace all the possibilities of God.

We'll be out the rest of the week partnering with some new friends in Indianapolis at St. Vincent's Hospital. Please be in prayer for us as we go.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

We are excited to have you visit Ridley! You will love St. Vincent. Be sure to visit our Peyton Manning Children's Hospital! Welcome!

Unknown said...

Change is one of the hardest things to deal with. Mainly because it is not the change that we want to occur. I have learned in my continuous journey with God that my plans and His plans are not always the same. Many times I have said no to His plan, but only to realize that He puts me on the right path. We just make it harder on ourselves when we resist His plan/path.
Take care Ridley

Scott

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for your heartfelt and eye opening story. I work @ St. Vincent in the oncology unit and was lucky enough to sneak away and hear you speak. You were so candid, honest, and brave and I wish each of my coworkers could hear you speak. I will never again take a half a second for granted. Best wishes to you, Lisa, and your family !

Anonymous said...

I too work at St. Vincent and was very moved by your speech. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us.
I wish that it would have been videotaped because I believe that it should be mandatory for everyone to hear.
God bless you and your family