Message from God

Message from God (via Facebook)

On this day, God wants you to know ...
that change is the very nature of life. Welcome it!

This message was on a Facebook friend's profile. And it was almost like the heavens cracked open, lightning struck and the voice of God was talking to me.

You see, I'm not so fond of change. I never have been.

Yet I know change is inevitable. And often the changes I dread the most are the ones that bring new joy to my life.

Even as a kid, I had trouble with change. My first private voice teacher was a lovely lady. Her name was Mrs. Dillinger. I even remember the first song she ever had me sing for her. It was Tammy: "I hear the cottonwood whistling above, Tammy, Tammy, Tammy's in love."

I think it was from a television show. It wasn't exactly a Puccini aria.

I loved to sing. I loved private voice lessons. I loved Mrs. Dillinger. So when she moved, I thought it would be the end of my singing career. There could be no one like Mrs. Dillinger.

And there wasn't. There was even better.

The same goes for our move from the little Byers United Methodist Church to the big Pratt United Methodist Church. I'd been going to Byers from the time my parents carried me through the doors as a newborn.

I knew nothing about the church in Pratt, other than it was BIG and it was that place where the steeple stood taller than practically anything else in town. Who would I know? How would I know the routine? Who would care about me?

But my parents decided it was a change we were going to make as a family. And, again, it turned out to be even better. I had a Sunday School class with kids my own age. I had a Sunday School teacher who still cares about me and my family today. I got to sing in the chancel choir. It was the place where I became Mrs. Randy Fritzemeier, another big - but wonderful - change in my life.

Like the Facebook message said: Change is the very nature of life.

However, I must be a slow learner. I still drag my heels with change.

I think part of the reluctance is because I don't want to make a "wrong" or "bad" decision. Big or small, it doesn't seem to matter.

Last week, I had to buy a new recliner. That should be good news, right? But it took 10 years to break in the old one. It fit me just right. Plus, I wasn't replacing all the furniture in the living room. So what if it doesn't look good now? What if I need to replace the rest of the furniture at some point and I can't find something to "match?"

Sure, there was that little problem with not being able to put the footrest up or down. So change was forced upon me.

I've had it less than a week, and it's already starting to feel like home, even though I haven't had much time to sit in it.

My camera battery is dying. But this camera has been good to me. Will a new camera give me the color I want? Will it give me the close-up quality I've had in this old Kodak Easy Share that I got in 2006 on a WalMart sale table? (And, yes, I was one of those holdouts who was reluctant to part with my good film camera. There's that whole change issue rearing its ugly head again! But would I go back now? Not a chance!)

To complicate this decision-challenged, change-phobic life even further, now you can research all the options on the internet. The internet is great, and I love being able to type "Top 10 point and shoot digital cameras" into a search engine. BUT ... then there is a confusing avalanche of options. Who do I listen to? What should I do? Most importantly, WHAT IF I MAKE THE WRONG CHOICE? (By the way, if you have a personal recommendation about a good camera, please let me know!)

So, this Message from God really struck me:

On this day, God wants you to know ...
that change is the very nature of life. Welcome it!

No glass ever became sand again.


No bread ever became wheat.

No ripened fruit ever became a flower.

Welcome change, and choose what kind of glass you create, what kind of bread you bake, what kind of fruit you harvest.

Hoping you have a good day - whether it's a routine day or filled with change.