Change

I've been feeling the need to be more consistent with this blog, but I have also been feeling as though I don't have much to say. Let me rephrase that - I often don't feel like I have much to say that anyone else would care to listen to. Just an assortment of rambling thoughts that carry me through my day.

One of my re-occuring thoughts as of late has been the thought of CHANGE. Dan & I have been experiencing so much of this lately - the good and bad kind. For the first time since we've known one another, neither of us is in school. It's a good change, but still a change. We are now both working full time, which means our schedules shift, our priorities change a little, and our time with each other has slightly shrunk. It also means we have 2 paycheks - a great change, one that has also brought with it lots of decisions and responsibility.

At work things have changed a lot in the last month. In short, our company is in a very tight spot financially which unfortunately led to 2 layoffs and another position that left and is not going to be filled. When you take 3 people out of an already small staff (we were at about 15), that produces some major changes in work load as well as staff dynamics. Not really the good kind of change. I was able to change offices as a result of all of this, however, and I now have an office with a window. Good change. And now I have more than a hallway for an office, which is also wonderful!

Our friendships have also changed in the last month or so. Some of our best friends here in Nashville, Tyler & Annie & son Sam, moved away in August. That was a hard change. Some of our other good friends, Megan & Alan, had their second child around the same time. Good change...except when we want to do something that isn't necessarily "kid-friendly." My best friend Shelby got married a few weeks ago, which also changes the dynamic of our friendship.

At church we finished teaching our "Kingdom Kids" group of 1st-5th graders and have switched to 2 year-olds (me) and 2nd graders (Dan). It was a bit of a wake-up call when I realized that every one of those little critters came with a diaper bag and the need to be watched every second to avoid all manner of disasters! I also realized that I like knowing everyone's name in my old class...and I liked that they remembered mine. Once again...change.

And we're moving. For some reason, changing our environment can sometimes feel like we're changing our whole world. And it's just a few miles away! I'm hoping once the actual move takes place that this part won't feel quite so overwhelming. Why does it seem to change so much to have a 30 minute drive on each end of my day instead of 8 or 10?

All of this to say, there are very few areas of my life that have remained UNchanged in the past couple of months. I feel like I'm grasping at straws sometimes as I try to find something comfortable and familiar. How very grateful I am that I serve a God who NEVER changes...who is the same yesterday, today, and forver...and who reigns forever as the Ancient of Days.