How to Embrace Change: 8 Mindsets to Help You
It happened on a balmy August evening with locusts droning on like a reminder that the earth would keep spinning, even if my world had shifted in an uncomfortable direction. It was time to learn how to embrace change, and it wasn’t going to be a lesson that came easily.
We will all face seasons of drastic change in life, and that August evening threw me like few others. In a matter of minutes, every dream I’d been dreaming – every plan I’d been carefully laying down like a piece of some giant puzzle – fell to the wayside, and I was left alone with a radically shifted set of circumstances.
Change is Inevitable
As the years have worn on, I’ve learned a few lessons about how to take the next step when the train of my life has gone off the tracks of change – even if it seems to have plummeted into the closest ravine.
If your autumn holds uncomfortable changes today, hold onto these truths to help you find the right path. It might not be the path you had planned, but we serve a Master Engineer who can make even this new path smooth and clear:
1. Fight Offense with all You Have
When life takes an unexpected turn, my most natural reaction is to take offense. If I’m not angry with myself for messing up, it’s all too easy to hold a grudge against another person, or, even worse, to hold a grudge against God.
The “If you’re not going to hold up your end of this deal, I’m done holding up mine” mentality has wrecked far too many lives.
We don’t serve a God whose ways can be easily understood, and sometimes his plans simply don’t match our plans. But it was never about holding up equal ends of the deals we make with him in our minds. God’s ways are above our ways, and there are times when his derailments are nothing short of grace – nothing short of gifts.
Before you understand what’s happening, resolve not to take offense at him in your heart. This is more than a battle about your plans, your hopes, or your dreams; it is a battle for your heart, and the moment you harden your heart, you lose the battle – every time. Share on X
To continue reading this post, join me at my friend Heather’s blog, Lessons from Home, here . . .
A Free Devotional for You
Are you in the middle of a difficult season? Hope for Hard Days is a free 10-day online devotional to help you hold onto hope when life is tough. You will find 10 readings to help you connect with God and claim his peace. Click here and I’ll send it to your email inbox today for free with promo code HOPE.
Calling all moms and daughters—and parents of boys!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 14, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or grandparents to read with the children they care about.
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength is for boys ages 5-13. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to courageously carry God’s love into the world. Written with input from our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven, this book will help the boys you care about find courage and strength in God. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Devotionals for Girls
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
All three books are available in print and eBook form here on Amazon. They are also free on the Kindle Unlimited plan, which you can enjoy with a free three-month trial! These books make great gifts, and you don’t need to be the parent of young children to read them. Share them with your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or the young ones you love.
Learn Why Willpower Doesn’t Work and Experience God’s Deliverance and Healing
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book as a free eBook on Kindle Unlimited or for 12.99 in print right here. (If you do not have Kindle Unlimited, you can try it out with a free three-month trial!) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
