Everything Changes

It's literally been years since I last wrote on this blog. So much has changed, some of which I've wholeheartedly embraced, adapted to, or managed to cope with. Some of the change though has really shaken my world and it would be safe to say that I haven't always been entirely comfortable with some of the changes.

A quick run down of the changes since I last wrote are as follows:

Jan 2011 - I gave birth to my second daughter - Sophie.
Sep 2011 - I started working for an organisation (Christians Against Poverty) that I had wanted to work for and had supported financially for 10 years.
May 2012 - I won an election and now represent the ward of Clayton & Fairweather Green as a Councillor.
Sep 2012 - I gave birth to my third daughter - Rebecca.
Sep 2012 - My eldest daughter - Lara, started full time school.

Church - also during this period my church has undergone some changes with different worship leaders and Lead Pastors.

Change itself doesn't really bother me and for the most part I accept and welcome change especially as I often get itchy feet and hate routine. I think it's important to be prepared to change in order to be able to move quickly to adapt to better and more efficient ways of doing things.

I don't mind saying that I've done well to adapt to and deal well with all the changes above, all except the changes in my local church.

The changes in church made me realise that I had liked to be comfortable at church with a certain way of doing things and that despite saying I hate routine, the routine in church was something I loved and felt happy with.

It all seemed to happen while I wasn't looking so to speak. I was busy campaigning for election so not really getting to church as often except on Sunday evenings and before I knew it, the Senior Pastor was stepping to one side to focus on other things and allowing for other younger leaders to step up to the challenge of senior Church Leadership. The worship leader who I also loved was stepping down to pursue more solo work.

All of a sudden I felt my world getting shaken. Maybe I'd put too much faith in the church and the comfort of the way things had always been - that status quo. Now that changes had occurred I was feeling challenged, uncomfortable and unsure.

It wasn't until my daughter Rebecca was born and I had to face a new challenge, (that of having a child with Down Syndrome), when I realised the changes at church were a good thing. It's good to shake things up a little and reach further and deeper. It's good to pass leadership and responsibility on to others and it's good to have a new sense of dynamism and vision when changes happen. I have always loved and respected the leadership team at my church and when I was faced with Now What? types of challenge over the years I'd always felt that I had someone to turn to. But the way in which I felt so loved and supported when Rebecca was born went so much further. It taught me that God is so for me no matter what is coming up in my life to deal with and that he will always make sure the right people are in the right places doing the right things.

Everything changes except God!