Changing change for change

I’m in Kansas City this morning, preparing to go to learn more about change. I feel like my whole life has been about change for, oh, a long, long time. It’s not always good, and it can be tiring, but change is what we must do because we must do it.

This world each of us live in is and has always been about change. Evolution or not, we are not who we were, none of us, 20 years ago. Technology and such, culture and such, such and such have all changed.

Oh, I believe God hasn’t changed because that’s the way I read what I read in scripture. But I would argue that the way we perceive him, the way we read about him, the way we talk about him have all changed. And all of us are right. And all of us are wrong. Because many of us have change the way we feel about so many, many things over time.

I was talking, as I always do (both times) with my cousin, and we were talking about the preaching we grew up with and grew up on and it is certainly not the type of preaching I do now. A good friend of mine came to our church this past week and she emailed me Monday and said I was the same “silly” Billy. Ironically, I don’t think of myself that way at all anymore and the person who used to preach with some sort of joke or funny tale almost each week seldom if ever does that now. I heard we’re not supposed to from a teacher of mine, and I quit on the spot.

Change. Leading through change. It’s something we talk about and we want, all of us I think, till change hurts someone. Then as always I’m regretful I pushed for change so hard.

I’m very tired as I write this with a full, full day ahead but here is what I read last night: “You, by your own hand, removed all the nations, but you planted our ancestors. You crushed all the peoples, but you set our ancestors free. No, not by their own swords did they take possession of the land – their own arms didn’t save them – no, it was your strong hand, your arm, and the light of your face because you were pleased with them.”

I’ve changed during the past 19 years plus because I haven’t drank, and I’ve talked to a whole lot of people who didn’t want to. I’ve changed because during the past 19 years plus, but not nearly enough. I’m getting old and set in my ways as they used to say, but darn if I don’t think I need to change more.

I pray there won’t come a time when I don’t want to change, but I fear greatly that I will. I pray that my conservative streak is at root a sign of my age, and that what I believe isn’t. I pray that I will continue to grow till that fine day in the future, maybe today, maybe tomorrow, when I won’t change because I’m going home to be with my parents, my pets, my family birth and adopted. Till then, may I learn to change like I’ve learned to do Mac instead of PC, I-pad instead of laptop and so forth.

May I.