Dear One,
What is it about our homes and our own things that make them comfortable? It is usually not the luxury or convenience, but the familiarity. The things we are accustomed to become like friends to us and help give structure to our days and routine (which produces its own level of comfort). We know what to expect from them. They do not startle us or force our attention to correct problems because we have learned their ways, and even their short-comings, and they are predictable. (I understand that these are the same reasons many older people find the presence of young children to be a bit stressful, because children are also unpredictable and demand our attention. I will try to help my young friends be more aware of this.) What do you do when you are unable to remain in your safe and protected surroundings? How do you cope with change?
I believe the first task is to understand that at times it must be this way. Change is one of the constants of life. We hold on to the hope that things can continue as they have, but that will not always be true. If we accept the need for the newness we can transition more easily and begin to learn new patterns. It will not be easy, but it can be done. It takes energy to learn new ways of doing things. Usually help is offered from loving sources and you should graciously accept those offers. Change will bring some uncertainty but that will also go away as you become accustomed to it. It is too much to ask older individuals in transition to just look at it as exciting. They do not want excitement. They want stability. But change does not mean everything in your life is now unstable.
Hold on to the things that do not change. Jesus is the same “yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Scripture does not change. We are not to be moved from the truth of the Gospel (Colossians 1:23). Our Christianity does not need to change. Focus on the comfort of truth, which will remain the same, and the rest of what happens can fall around that.
Do remember that not all change is bad. Sometimes there really is a better way than what we have gotten comfortable with. What will absolutely be the best change of all is the transition of our physical bodies to be like Jesus (1 John 3:2). We will not resist or resent that change. Just as we put off the old man when we became a Christian, the new person who gets to live in heaven with God will be very different, but it will be a welcome change.
your loving friend,
Laurie Moyer
“…We will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52
