Oh, no…Change? Again?
If you know me (or have visited my blog previously), you may recall that I love being outside and I view yardwork and growing things as therapy. Farming and gardening require some specific tools. I’m quite dependent on my wheelbarrow. I use it for hauling hay to feed horses, disposing of weeds, spreading mulch, and much more.
Last week I broke a handle on my wheelbarrow. “Oh, no!” I thought, “How will I do without my wheelbarrow until I can get a replacement?”
After all, a one-armed (one-handled) wheelbarrow can’t be very useful, can it? “And, it’s Spring (almost)–I need to be working in my flowers”... so went my lament.
How can I make this work?
I broke the wheelbarrow while in the hay shed getting hay. I tossed a bale down from a tall stack, being careful to gage proper distance away the wheelbarrow. What I didn’t allow for was the bounce. The bale landed a safe distance away from my work horse barrow, but bounced and flipped, hitting my useful tool, breaking one of the handles. I confess my reaction to my mistake is censored.
As I climbed down from the stack of hay, I grumbled about my lack of sense. I stared at the broken handle, the very heavy bale of hay, and the distance to the barn where I feed. Sigh…I did not relish carrying the bale.
I can adapt.
I put the bale of hay in the partially disabled wheelbarrow. With one hand on the surviving handle and the other lifting the edge of the tub (barrow), I managed to wheel my load to hungry horses. The barrow isn’t quite as well balanced with my adaptation, but it works!
The wheelbarrow has served me well as I’ve continued to use it on a daily basis. To serve it’s purpose, it just needed some adaptation on my part.
Adapting means we make a change in our actions to adjust to circumstances we experience. We’ve certainly encountered a lot of change this past year. Of course, we had no control over much of the situation forced upon us–a deadly illness spreading rapidly, isolation, economic turmoil, weather emergencies, etc. But, an area where we do have some control is how we react to a situation.
We all are offered the gift of eternal life by the sacrifice given by Jesus Christ. How do we react? When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are forever changed. Our life is redeemed by His gift of LOVE.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17
We are a new creation!
Because of our Lord’s gift of love, we are re-born, changed forever and the life we live reflects this change. We choose to allow our Father and Savior to direct our actions. We submit to our Lord so that He may guide our paths. We have faith and confidence that our Lord will be with us on our journey. We adapt to this new life given to us.
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8
But we are not left alone on our journey. Our God is trustworthy and dependable.
Every good and perfect gift is from above; coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17
Our Lord doesn’t change because He is already perfect. His sacrifice for our sins is what changes us.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8
And because our God is dependable and loves us, we can be confident in bringing our requests to Him.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
How have you been changed by God’s Grace? What positive changes have you seen in yourself this past year?
Father, Thank you for your gift of Love, your Son, our Savior, who took my sins and the sins of the world upon Himself, that we might have eternal life with you if we say, “I believe…” We’ve been changed forever by Your love for us. Help us to hold steadfast and grant that in one aspect of our lives we may never change. Help us to always love You with our whole heart and maintain steadfast devotion to You. And one more request, Father–we know we aren’t always in control of what happens to us, but please help us always to react in a way that brings glory and honor to You.
What a great lesson about adapting and make use of changes. We can complain or we can go forward and learn how to do something new. Your ingenuity proved useful and gave you a way to see God’s grace as you shared in your story.
Barbara, I like your point about our reactions when we face changes. Often we do whine and complain, but that doesn’t solve the problem. “Go forward and learn something new.” YES! Every change is a new opportunity. Perhaps even a blessing. One thing for sure–God is with us through every change, trial, and challenge. He does not leave us alone to face the unknown.
I’ve often joked that my OCD is so bad, I actually have a more severe form of it, called CDO. “CDO is like OCD, but it arranged alphabetically like it should be!” 🙂 Now, to the object of my learning. As you might guess dear friend, I’m not a big fan of change. I like to think I can adapt to challenges and find new ways to achieve the same goal (like your one-handled wheelbarrow), but the mere fact that I can’t do it the way I always have tears at the very fabric of my soul. It is, I believe, that very reason that so many Christians (or maybe it’s just me) struggle with the process of sanctification in our lives. It’s the change! In time, we come to realize and accept that some change is good and profitable for us. It’s then that we can begin to welcome change. Oh, what a wonderful lesson here. Kudos, by the way, for having the common sense to have adapted to how to use the wheelbarrow. Now, if I may suggest; if you use both hands to lift the rear edge of the pictured wheelbarrow, it will be less cumbersome to maneuver than one on the tub and one on the remaining handle. The laws of physics will be at play (think lever) until you can replace the handle or wheelbarrow altogether, but your back will thank you. 🙂 God’s blessings and thank you so much for this wonderful lesson.
I have my own brand of OCD/CDO, too. I guess it comes with the “over achiever” mentality I grew up with. When we believe we need to be perfect in all we do, that puts a big strain on ourselves and any relationship we attempt. Of course, God knows I am far from perfect and, amazingly, loves me anyway as I continue to struggle with the shaping process (He takes this hard, resistance lump of clay and shapes it into something of service to Him). That means I must change!! Ouch! I will try your strategy on my next load of hay and see how I do. Thank you, my friend, for your helpful advice and, most especially, for your encouragement. Wishing you all a blessed week on the Cross-Dubya.
Morning, Miss Katherine. JD makes a good point about physics. I thought about how the change you made actually did you some good, and not because you were able to continue working.
While you grab that skinny barrow rim with your left hand, you’re exercising it more than you did on the barrow handle. Now you have a stronger grip for more trying tasks.
I’m thinking that’s why God allows us the pleasure of challenges. It creates opportunity to be better prepared for the real work He has for us.
Best blessings!
Warren, you are right that my hands and upper arms get a better workout when I hold the edge of the barrow. We’ll see how J.D.’s strategy works when I feed this afternoon. I like your term–“the pleasure of challenges.” We don’t often see it that way when those challenges overwhelm us, but when we look back, we recognize that is when our faith grows the most. As you say, He’s preparing us for the “real” work He has planned for us. Wishing you blessings, my friend. Continuing to pray for your family.
I could relate to your frustration with your broken wheelbarrow. But you’ve used it to bring great insights to our need to adapt to our new life in Christ. I love this paragraph that you wrote: “We choose to allow our Father and Savior to direct our actions. We submit to our Lord so that He may guide our paths. We have faith and confidence that our Lord will be with us on our journey. We adapt to this new life given to us.” So true! And you’ve quoted many of my favorite verses that speak to my heart! Thank you!
Thank you, Kathy. The paragraph about our choice in following Jesus stems from my struggles in the past when I resisted submitting. God had to bring me to my knees (more like lying prone, face down) before I realized my need for Him. He gifted us with Free Will, but, in my case (and I suspect many others), that enabled many years of attempting to control my own destiny before “choosing” to recognize Him as my Lord. What a difference that has made! Wishing you blessings and safety in the storm.
Oh, I love this! The scripture you use is both comforting and reassuring and you made me smile about your “lack of sense.” Sounds like my self-talk sometimes. Great lesson.
I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one who uses self-talk. Seems like this year, I’ve been my my main source of conversation (me to me). That sounds kind of sad, but this year has been unique in so many ways for all of us. Thank you for your encouragement, Candyce. Hope you’re having a great week.
Yes, adapting can be difficult, but the load is made lighter with God’s direction and help. He goes ahead of us; He is with us.
Glad you got your work done, Katherine, and blessed you adapted and wrote this post out of the ordeal.
I learn so much from nature and my outside work. Of course, our environment (wherever we are) always teaches us valuable lessons–if we pay attention! Thank you for blessing me with your encouragement.