The Pain of Change

One of the best sayings I have ever been told in my life and one I often repeat is "Change is hard to live with, but impossible to live without."

Another great quote is by Ben Franklin who was quoted as saying, "...in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

Face it. Change happens. It's just life! In fact, I'm convinced, the sooner we accept most changes in our lives, the sooner we can move on to great successes.

Undoubtedly, the year of 2020 will go down as one marked with tremendous change. Clearly, the coronavirus pandemic has cause an upheaval to society as we have known it. Even Lighthouse Christian Schools have not been immune to change. As our students, teachers and parents know all too well, we've undergone unprecedented changes in our delivery of educational instruction. None of us would have guessed that, mid-year, we would have to shift gears and launch virtual video classrooms in each of our eight campuses.

Change has hit just about every facet of education, industry, church and other religious groups, real estate, construction, healthcare, government and just about everything else you can think of. Even now, with millions of workers working virtually from home, businesses are debating when or even if they will open their brick & mortar businesses and office buildings. Anecdotal reports suggest that business efficiency has actually increased during this quarantined period, leading many executives to significantly revamp future plans. Imagine how reducing and/or eliminating mortgage or lease payments can affect bottom lines.

Sounds like we've all been hit smack dad in the face with change!

Aside from this obvious season of change during the pandemic, what other changes have you experienced in your life? How did you respond? Did you panic? Were you hit with unimaginable fear or anxiety? Were you angry? If so, you're not alone. Those are typical reactions to change.

As followers of Jesus, we've been given so many promises in the bible that directly contradict the emotions we're bombarded with when change happens (and it's going to happen). The apostle Paul wrote to his young friend Timothy that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. Throughout the bible we're given promises that God will never leave us nor forsake us and that He would always be with us, even through every single change.

Most of the time, change brings out the best and worst in all of us. But if you study the lives of the most successful people in history, a common denominator among most of them is, when change came, they were early adopters of that change. While others sat around and worried, complaining that things had changed, the successful folks accepted it and went out and achieved success.

So what are you going to do with your change?

Accept, adapt and succeed!