Change

Let's hear it for change.  The seasons have changed (finally) here in CenCal.  The weather changing has given us cause to change our wardrobes (finally - I can wear my new work uniform without sweating too much).  We've changed our clocks, and hopefully, our circadian rhythms.  Let's not forget the batteries in our smoke alarms, lest we wake to the smell of smoke and find that it's too late to get out.  Gas prices have begun to change ( I scored $1.89 at a VONS gas station in Oakhurst on Sunday), and none too soon.  We've voted to change the leadership at the helm of our nation.  

I changed several diapers today.  With help, I'll soon be not changing any... and then in a few months I'll be changing twice the amount ( yeah.  do the math.  you're on the right track ) every day. 

I changed my job title recently.  I change job locations every day, and sometimes every hour.  Thankfully, the company logo on my paycheck hasn't changed in almost 7 years.  I work with my co-workers to change their bad work habits, and help them to see the benefits of ergonomic design.

I changed a tire on my truck last week, when I managed to get a flat on the way to work one morning.

My daughter changes the amount of words in her vocabulary on a daily basis.  Now we have words like dolly, Winnie Boo (Poo Bear), choo (shoe), bee, ee you (thank you), ah you Daddy (I love you Daddy), bies (bus), and peas (please).  My favorite is when she goes out into the garden, next to the sage and lavender, and declares, "Hi, Bees!". 

Parents retire.  Brothers and sisters grow families.  Friends move away with hopes to return.  Some kicked the dust from their sandals as they left.  

Grandparents grow older, no matter how much you love them.  And whether they meant it to carry more meaning or not, it hurts when you hear them say, " I've had a pretty good life".

In the end, we are but a vapor.   

The mill house stone grinds on because the work is good.

None can add, nor take away from what God has set forth.

The change is inevitable, because everything has its time.  A flower is beautiful in its time, but it will change and bear fruit.  You cannot capture the blossom, and eat the apple.  God has set eternity in our hearts, but we do not comprehend it.  

We are meant to see the beauty of creation in its time.  Would you set out a peach on the table, and say to your friend, "Look at how beautiful that peach is.  Its red and golden hue is absolutely gorgeous.  I bet that peach would be delicious."  You wouldn't then sit down every day at breakfast, and admire the way the light danced on the skin of the fruit.  You wouldn't let it sit out every day, just to see it become overripe, to sag and decay.  

 

Would you then say to your friend, "Well, I guess that peach wasn't any good after all, now was it?  It's nothing but a pile of molding goo now.  I'm sure it tastes horrible."

The peach was meant to be enjoyed in its time.  The beauty is a moment to moment existence.  

Change will keep coming.  In four years a lot will have changed in America.  In four more minutes a lot can change in a single person.  

Ecclesiastes 3:9-14 (New International Version)

9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE NEAREST: BREATH IN YOUR NOSTRILS, LIGHT IN YOUR EYES, FLOWERS AT YOUR FEET, DUTIES AT YOUR HAND, THE PATH OF RIGHT JUST BEFORE YOU. THEN DO NOT GRASP AT THE STARS, BUT DO LIFE'S PLAIN, COMMON WORK AS IT COMES, CERTAIN THAT DAILY DUTIES AND DAILY BREAD ARE THE SWEETEST THINGS IN LIFE. 

-ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON-