Day Thirteen - Change

"I hate change."  I have heard these words out of my father's mouth every time we talk about technology.  My response is always the same, "You'll be fine."  He is right though.  Change can be bad, it can be intimidating, and it can be uncomfortable.  But it can also be good, adventurous, and even fulfilling.  Seven years ago I had the opportunity to speak at my college graduation. I spoke about change.  How it is inevitable and something that must be embraced.  I'm sure I probably threw in a cliche about remembering our time at "dear, old Union."  But the vast majority of my speech dealt with change.  I spoke about the fact that the moment we stop changing, the moment we stop learning, should be at the end of our lives and challenging my fellow graduates to make this a reality in their lives.  It was when I was writing that speech that I realized how true this is.

The same is still true today.  I never want to stop changing.  Even more so, I never want to forget the changes, both good and bad, that have made me who I am right now.  I find it interesting to think about just a few years ago how different my life was than it is now.  I went from being a single-college grad, to meeting, dating, and marrying the girl of my dreams all in less than a year (that's a fun story that I'll have to share with you sometime).  From there, things continued to change. We traveled as missionaries, moved to Tennessee, had a baby girl (E), moved to Arkansas, lived in two apartments, worked two jobs, bought a house, had our second child (B), and we are approved for and waiting on an opportunity for me to own my own business. The crazy thing is those are just a few of the changes we've gone through since getting married six years ago!

So what is the point of me talking about change?  My point is change is going to come.  I can fret about it and complain.  I can dread every bit of change.  I can even allow small things like updating to the new iOS 10 today to turn my day upside down.  Or I can embrace it.  I can dive head first into it.  I can see it coming, know that there will be risks, and hit it head on.  And then I can reap the rewards.

Blogging like this is a huge change for me.  I've always been very private (AKA proud) about losing weight.  I didn't want to ask for accountability, encouragement, or even prayer.  What if I wasn't successful?  What if people prayed for me, and then I didn't change my glutinous habits?  What if I gained all of it back?  I needed a change.  I needed something to happen to cause me to lose weight.  I needed a new approach.  I'm embracing the changes in my life.  In fact, I am inviting them in and asking them to continue.  I want to change.  I want to grow as a husband, father, employee (and one day employer), Christ follower, etc.  I know that the first steps of these desired changes is to strive each and every day to change my body and lose my butter half.