I love change…I really do. Not just the coins in my wallet, either.

I like to rearrange furniture, reorganize my workspace and find different routes to my regular destinations. To me, new responsibilities are an adventure. Changing circumstances hold limitless possibilities. Even the dreaded labor of actually relocating to another house or city invigorates me almost as much as it exhausts me.

That attitude occasionally makes me just a little smug when I hear people complaining about all the changes assailing them.

Technological advances, global unrest, the economy, societal standards….everywhere we look we find the need to make adjustments to adapt to new circumstances.

Occasionally, I’ve had episodes of change overload that helped me see why so many are resistant to change.

Have you ever seen a lumberjack log-rolling contest? The woodsmen compete to see who can remain upright the longest while standing on a huge log that is floating in a deep pond.  The log rolls around in the water and the men have to run and twist, dance and skip, frantically trying to maintain their balance on that bobbing and rolling tree trunk.  Even the winner in the contest doesn’t remain dry for long, just a few seconds longer than his competitor.

Adapting to constant change can feel like that. It’s hard to maintain one’s balance without some point of stability.

Recently, when I began to feel the log shift beneath my feet again, I reflexively flung out my arm and grasped the Father’s hand.  Immediately, I began to enjoy the dance once more.

No matter how this earth bucks and rolls as we stride through life, we have a constant point of stability if we trust in God, the only one who never changes.

The secret to enjoying the adventure is to be sure that our first reaction, our deepest reflex, is to reach for his hand.

[adapted from “too Much Change” posted 8-8-2010]