In a couple of weeks, the hurricane season officially begins. I think hurricanes are captivating, a wonder to behold.
From the space shuttle.
I don’t live on the east coast or Gulf coast, and from June to December I am glad of that. Every time I am tempted to leave it all behind and find some tropical paradise somewhere to live out my days in relaxation and obscurity…I remember: “Hey, they gots HURRICANES down there!!” And I come back to reality, very thankful that, although I love to visit the ocean, I can go home if a hurricane threatens.
Hurricanes are of the devil. Or are they?
As messed up as things can get when hurricanes make landfall…the truth is that they are the equalizers for our atmosphere and climate. Without hurricanes and typhoons, it would only be a matter of a few years before our planet was unlivable. For lack of a better analogy, it’s almost like the way our climate breathes. So as scary as they are, and with as much damage as they can do…we actually need hurricanes in order to live.
Weird, huh?
The thing is, change is kind of like that. Seasons of change can take our world and turn it every which way, and make us feel like we are in the most turbulent part of the storm, like we have no foothold, or handhold, to balance us.
But the truth is…living things need change the way the earth needs hurricanes. Organisms thrive on it…not just in adapting to the surroundings, but in the constant renewing and replenishing, of old cells dying off and new cells replacing them.
Change can feel terrible sometimes…but if we don’t change, we die. Or to put it the opposite way…whatever is changing, is living.
If I could view the bigger picture of the change I’m seeing and feeling around me, not just in me, but in so many other people I know of–if I could switch to “space shuttle view” and look down on it–I imagine it would look something like a hurricane. Lots of upheaval and turmoil within the cloud…but actually a lot more organized and purposeful than it looks from ground zero. And actually, part of a very healthy cycle.
So as uncomfortable as it is…we need to ride out the seasons of change, even if they end up changing the very landscape and erasing all that feels familiar. For in the end…change is the breathing of life.
Just as an aside…among the entities on earth that seem most resistant to change…institutional Christendom seems to be at or near the top of the list….
“Whatever is changing, is living.”
Excuse me…I have to go change. 🙂
Wayward Son
Musician. Composer. Recovering perfectionist. Minister-in-transition. Lover of puns. Hijacker of rock song references. Questioner of the status quo.
I'm not really a rebel. Just a sincere Christ-follower with a thirst for significance that gets me into trouble. My quest has taken me over the fence of institutional Christianity. Here are some of my random thoughts along the way. Read along, join in the conversation. Just be nice.
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And I think in this process it’s not just one big hurricane…I find I have been in the fury and the eye of many smaller ones during my deconstruction, in the midst of the big one.
Beautiful analogy. I love that it’s an equalization of pressure, because that is certainly what I’ve felt, and it’s good to know it has a purpose.
One could say, “That which doesn’t change, is dead”.
As one who tends to enter change kicking and screaming and trying my best to hang on to the old life, I definitely needed this reminder. Thanks for your timely words.
Sometimes all we need is a little perspective — a satellite’s view. Then we can surrender to the change and embrace it as something good and beautiful and vital for life.
The institutional Church has changed the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 to read, “We shall all sleep, and we will NOT be changed.”
Wonderful post Jeff and some thoughts I need … you have certainly ministered to my needs here.
Ch ch ch CHANGE!!! Hey it ain’t so scary after all – it’s kind of exciting.
Erin,
Though a landlubber for many years, I feel like I have lived my spiritual life in the tropics with a very “active” weather pattern. 🙂
Yes, I think it has a purpose, though sometimes it frustrates me how much God knows about that purpose that I don’t. 🙂
Angela,
As to the kicking and screaming…you are not the only one. 🙂 My words are pointing right back at me…
Co-heir,
You should submit that one to http://www.alanknox.net. 🙂
Mark,
Yes, change is exciting. AND scary. For some reason, I haven’t been able to separate one from the other. 🙂
Enjoyed this Jeff.. not that I need any more hurricanes 🙂
When I think about change the word repentance often comes to mind.. LOL.. I guess sometimes change is really needed.
Jeff,
That’s a great analogy. Thanks for the perspective this brings.
Blessings,
Gary