I hope you enjoyed the gift I offered you in the previous post, where you were able to walk with God, and outline a guide for what you would like to achieve this year. If you haven’t done so yet, you can return to the previous post, where you will find the little gift, from the bottom of my heart.
Now that you have a guide that you can base yourself on for this year, it’s time to keep it in mind.
Can I ask you a question?
If so, I want to ask you, how do you feel when there are unexpected and radical changes?
Personally, it was before November 2021, that was not easy for me to deal with changes. I have had the tendency to be very organized, (whether I achieve it is another thing…) and I naturally tend to put things in a certain order.
Speaking of defined plans and changes of mind, there are two stories that can illustrate different ways of navigating changes.
The first story is about a character named Jonah, who was asked by God to give a message to the people of Nineveh. The message was that God was asking for a change in their ways of living. Jonah neither wanted to give the message, nor did he believe that the people of Nineveh would change.
Jonah did end up giving the message (although after deeply resisting, and after a great adventure). Because Jonah assumed that the people of Nineveh would not change, Jonah believed that God was going to punish them. And Jonah prepared to “witness the punishment.”
And the people of Nineveh did change their ways of living, thanks to Jonah’s message.
In the second story, Jesus, a carpenter from Nazareth, called several men by their name, and they left EVERYTHING. Everything. Everything. Some left their jobs on the spot, and others, in addition to their jobs, left their families. They for sure changed their lives…
Leave everything? The first time I heard about this, what I asked myself was, what did they see in Jesus, that they dared to change everything in their life?
I have had this question for so long, and it was on November 4, 2021 that maybe I was able to find an answer. It was on that day that I had an emergency surgery. A brain tumor was removed. As I mentioned before, it was a surprise, my health was deteriorating, and I attributed the changes to the stress of the pandemic and personal problems. But I realized, in a very drastic way, that I had to change something in me. Even more, I wanted to change.
Could it be that the disciples wanted to change too?
It was wanting to take care of the mother of my daughters, my health situation, what motivated me to want to change. And perhaps, it was that mysterious and loving (at least that’s how I perceive it) presence of Jesus, which helped the disciples want to change their entire lives.
And here is the question, that I keep asking myself, and that I also share with you.
How do each of us approach the changes in our lives? How do you approach changes in your life?
We have just contemplated making New Year’s resolutions, with the intention of achieving them. However, we know from experience that we cannot always follow them to a t.
Jonah did not want to bring a message from God to the people of Nineveh, and he ended up doing so.
The people of Nineveh lived one way, and changed it thanks to Jonah’s message.
God changed his mind regarding Nineveh, and there was no longer any punishment.
Some men changed their lives by leaving everything because a carpenter called them by name.
How do you approach change within yourself?
In my case, I wanted to abandon everything that I understood to be my life. I wanted to do it. As anyone with children can relate, my daughters are the ones I love the most in this life. And I wanted to take care of their mother. The titanic changes that I began to make were motivated by the love I have for them.
Again, I offer you the question, and invite you to take it to your prayer. How do you approach change within yourself?
Complaining, like Jonah…
Listening and attending like the people of Nineveh…
In the likeness of God, with compassion seeing the change of others…
Like the disciples, by invitation…
There are so many different ways we approach (or don’t) change.
Once again I invite you to ask yourself, how do you approach change within yourself?
A plan, a guide, offers us to return to a place where we can get back on track after navigating changes, small, large, expected or unexpected. And if you want to change your plan, no problem, you’ll have a place from where to adapt again.
A plan is not the destination, it is a route to get back on track from the last place you were.
And the change may not be a disruption to the plan, but a correction.
Change, which for some can be a cause of disorder, is perhaps an intermediate step before finding a new way of organizing, a readjustment.
The people of Nineveh benefited from listening to Jonah, as well as from God’s change of heart in destroying them.
Those men, friends of the carpenter, experienced a new life by deciding to change and follow him.
Personally, I continue to adjust to a new and constant changing way of living,
And now, the most important answer comes from you. How do you cope with your changes? Share your answer with God.
Thank you again for your direct messages, I continue to welcome them. And if you like, share them below as well.
I hope to connect with you again soon.
Marisol
P.S. The details of the previously mentioned stories can be found in the readings for the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B.
