Change Happens. Respond in grace.

A colleague mentioned how she admired my response to the challenge of change in my business. Change is the gentle term we used when circumstances are stressful. Change happens. Stress (or peace) is our response to it.

After 20 years, I've learned not to panic, to stay calm, to trust. This type of seasoning comes with time; while I may be surprised at events, my heavenly Father never is. 

We're encouraged, commanded, to pray for endurance. You don’t have to be the smartest person at what you do; but if you’re the hardest working you’ll outlast the smarter ones. That takes endurance.

When circumstances change, the path you may need to follow is one of exploration, discovery, and anticipation— not for what you fear may happen, but for what God in his grace has planned—so that we may become vessels of generosity, with our cups overflowing with generosity into the world around us.

I recall this story that Dave Ramsey recounts from Thou Shall Prosper.

The Havdalah service is recited over a cup of wine that runs over into the saucer beneath. This overflowing cup symbolizes the intention to produce during the week ahead not only sufficient to fill one’s own cup, but also an excess that will allow overflow for the benefit of others. In other words, I am obliged to first fill my cup and then continue pouring as it were, so that I will have sufficient to give away to others, thus helping to jump-start their own efforts. (Lapin, 150).

For the business owner and entrepreneur, every day is a challenge. In spite of the challenges, I'm determined to create enough wealth so I can give some of it away to others.

Sometimes your journey takes you down a path for which there is no map. You are neither leader or follower, but explorer.

Change is certain. How you respond to it reveals your character and sharpens your focus. The things that matter take priority; the non-essential becomes secondary.

Change forces you to align your plans more closely with your purpose. Beyond the uncertainty of change is the potential for unrealized opportunity.

I think that's what carpe diem really means. Seize the opportunity in the changes each day brings. How others see you respond to it may bring grace into someone else's life.

Writing a story worth telling

I started a new volume in my journal today.

Volume One was started in 1990, and it took roughly a decade to fill. Volume Two was stated in 2010, and it took 12 years to fill. This edition will be Volume Three – and we'll see how long it takes to fill.

I began this one differently. I wrote:

"When you let the Lord be the author of your life, he writes a story worth telling."

It's a phrase I heard at church last week, and it resonated with me. It's not a new perspective.  But as a visual artist, storytelling through words is relatively new to me, even though I help the people I work with tell their stories every day.

Sometimes the author is able to begin the story from a blank page. In our lives, we find ourselves at a place where we want the story that is being written to be different, to have a happier ending, or from a different perspective. The author has no choice, but to start a new story that follows the narrative that's already been told.

I'm opting for a new author, and a new perspective.