He started by asking everyone in the room to raise their hands if they enjoyed change. While a few individuals acknowledged that change is something they look forward too, the majority of the 600 plus people in the room sat with hands down. We were among them. You’ve probably heard it said before, the only constant in the world is change. It’s so true, yet so many of us hate it! We get comfortable in the way things are, and the thought of change terrifies us. We’re right there with you. We agonize over change. We overthink things to literal death. But if there’s one thing we’ve come to realize about change, it’s that without it, there is no room for growth.
That in a nut shell is what the sermon series has been about. How change makes room for growth to occur. It resonated so deeply with us because just one year ago we made decisions in our own life that led to some of the biggest changes we’ve ever experience together. And while that was a whole year ago, we still feel the ramifications of that change every. single. day. In fact, more than anything, that decision started a chain of change events that have occurred in rapid succession unlike anything we could have ever imagined.
We’ll be honest, change does seem scary at first. Leaving comfort and routine for something new creates all kinds of anxiety. We felt settled into our direction as wedding photographers…until we started booking sessions with businesses to focus on branding photography that we weren’t even trying to target. The uncomfortable process of changing our vision and focus as a photography team away from weddings to branding and lifestyle was difficult to work through. Ultimately, without embracing that process and accepting it, so much growth would have been stifled.
That doesn’t mean that it’s easy. Making the decision to embrace change still takes guts. We heard it described like this. A couple at our church talked about embracing change in their own life and their story of moving to Arizona. They had no jobs lined up. Not even an interview. Every opportunity that looked hopeful fizzled out and died before coming to fruition. But they felt compelled to go anyways. They uprooted and moved to Arizona with no jobs trusting that something would come together. In the end, after finally arriving in Arizona they both secured interviews and were hired for roles they couldn’t have imagined being in their future within the first couple of weeks! They used an analogy to describe their experience that really stuck with us.
Think of automatic doors. You see them everywhere and we’re used to walking up to them and expecting them to open for us as we continue walking through. If you stand far back and look at those doors, it would seem that they are shut with no way in. As if there is no way the doors could open. But it takes stepping closer and closer to those doors in faith that they will ultimately open before they operate as designed. In the same way, dealing with change involves embracing it, and walking into it confidently trusting that in the end, everything will work out for good!
So next time you’re confronted with change, don’t run! Turn towards the change and embrace it! You’ll find that the process might be uncomfortable, but we promise – looking back you’ll see tremendous growth! Don’t let the fear of change hold you back from what could be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made!
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