Change

This month I am sharing a reading on change with you. As a Christian man, husband, father, and  therapist, I have experienced change in many ways. I have also been an agent of change in people's lives. Change is not easy; in fact, some people would rather not  change, even though they know it will probably be good for them. It seems that many times we would rather not change, because what we're experiencing now, even though it may not be healthy, is still familiar. New ideas and ways of living are often scary!

 This reading is taken from a devotional book written by Charles Ringma, entitled: Dare to Journey With Henri Nouwen.

 

CREATING OPEN SPACES: Making Room for Purposeful Change

Isaiah 30:18 - "The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

 

Change happens to all of us.  Much of it happens slowly and almost imperceptibly. We are molded by our environment and influenced by our friends. As our society changes its values, we slowly change with it. Physically, too, we change with age.

But we can also be proactive. Change can come because we are dreaming new dreams, making new plans, and actively pursuing new options.

For such changes to be productive, “the first thing we need is an open receptive place where something can happen to us,” says Nouwen. Change arising out of reactions will hardly be helpful, and change to quickly fill the empty places in our lives will hardly be satisfying. Moreover, change made on the run is seldom purposeful.

The powerful possibilities of change first require the quiet reality of solitude. Change first needs stillness, not further activity. And rather than rushing headlong, we first need to create space for ourselves.

The space for thankful reflection on what has been or the space of forgiveness for what should have been needs to be created. And, more particularly, the empty space harboring the fears of loss of significance, position, and power, needs to be embraced as the hopeful place, the place of new beginnings. For the empty place can bring forth new dreams, and out of seeing new possibilities, purposeful change can come.

Submitted by Tom Horst, Marriage and Family Therapist

New Hope Community Life Ministry