Stress of Change

Read the Abram story: Genesis 12:1-5

Today’s lesson is about change and the stress that accompanies change. As Christians we should know a lot about how to deal with that stress, because the Bible records the lives of people who found themselves immersed in change:

Abram (Abraham) … who left his home to go to a new land
Joseph who moved from favored son to slave to prisoner to potentate
Moses … who was tending sheep and was called by God to lead his people to freedom
David … who was tending sheep and was called by God to go into battle
Mary who was an innocent adolescent … and learned she was to bear God’s son
Joseph who learned that his betrothed was pregnant
Peter who moved from fisherman to fisher of men
Paul who was abruptly moved from chasing Christians to creating Christians
And the list goes on and on

Among the things that the Bible reveals about change is that sometimes astonishingly positive things come from change and the stress that accompanies it. Look again at the list of Biblical characters and what resulted from the change in their lives:

Abraham: A new nation was created that ultimately blessed the world with Jesus.
Moses: His people moved to freedom.
Mary: is honored as the mother of the savior of the world.
Peter: birthed a new church and nurtured it in difficult years.

Change has within it the seeds of good.
· It often calls forth from us growth and creativity and reveals to us new challenges and new opportunities.
· It has the potential to move us closer to God.

But despite the potential positives of change, we remain very ambivalent about it:
Bumper Sticker (put up board): Change is good, you go first.
For most of us, change can be good as long as it happens to someone else … and as long as it does not interrupt our agenda

Now, we have talked about biblical changes … but let’s brainstorm about the changes that characterize our lives: [work on board]
· Life cycle changes
· Vocational Changes
· Relationship changes (engagement, marriage, divorce, parenting, caring for aging parents, …)
· Health changes
· Cultural changes
· Financial changes
· Residential changes


Activity: I want to return to an activity that is parallel to activity that we did last week. Suppose that you were counseling a friend who is immersed in or facing great change. What advice would you give him or her for managing the change … and overcoming the stress of the change:

Here are some ideas on advice from the class discussion:
· To make peace with change we may have to reorder our priorities. To do so may involve not being selfish.
· The stress of change is temporary. We will reach equilibrium. The result may be better than the past, but it will certainly be different.
· Change is inevitable but in the midst of all change, we know that we are not alone … and we are loved
· Even in the midst of negative change, God will help us find good
· Pray and ask God to help us see the good things
· Even when change has laid us low, God helps us see that other people need us and this gives us strength to get up and start again

At this time, I need to take our conversation in a different direction. I need to discuss some major changes in the life that Claire and I share that will create some smaller changes in the life of this class. I want to talk about some pulls and pushes that have been working on our lives over the last 18 months that are resulting in change in our lives.
· A major change occurred some 14 months ago when Claire and I became grandparents. This created a magnet in Decatur, Georgia that has exerted a strong pull on the two of us … and a particularly strong pull on Claire.
· Another change has been occurring over time. My parents, who are 85 and 83, have remained in remarkably good health, but become more frail in body and mind as time passes. As we think about the need to respond to their needs, the seven hours between Birmingham and Savannah loom very large. This has created another pull on the Wheeler family.
· Still another change occurred two years ago when I was helped hire a new boss. Last week Tony talked about some of the perils of being in management … and there are many. But one peril of a manager is that he or she is very dependent on the relationship he has with boss the next level up. Though I have maintained remarkably good relationship with my new boss, we do have different priorities and different styles that some time cause dismay. Further, she is building a completely new leadership team, and though she has been gracious enough to include a place for me, it is not a place where I am completely comfortable. I have experienced these events as a push.
· About a month ago I received a call from a little two year college located just south of Atlanta, asking if I would be interested in serving a year as academic officer at that school. As I laid awake thinking about this call and as I prayed about this call, it seemed to be the right next step in our lives. I will be leaving in a month to move to that area, and Claire will follow as she is able to wrap up her practice.

As we prepare to leave, there is just one heartache that we cannot calm.
We have loved our work in Savannah, but we will find good work elsewhere
We have loved our house in Savannah, but we will trade grandchild for a house any day
We have loved living on the coast, but it will be good to be nearer mountains
The heartache that remains, however, is that we will miss you. We have enjoyed being in this Christian community, the community in this class, more than any Christian community in our adult lives. We are so very grateful you have shared this part of our life with us.