Shuck: Change on the outside brings change on the inside

Did you, somehow, at some time, believe that you would never change? You liked the way you were and you knew that your opinions and outlooks were right ones? You plowed ahead, nonstop, following your dreams and ideas of what is important in life. You thought your logic, goals and aspirations would never change because you knew that you were well on your path to happiness?

Those of us that have a bit of maturity tucked beneath our belts, however, will beg to differ. Most people know that all of life is change. Conditions change, people change, locations change and our children grow up and change. The cute little babies that once were so sweet and cuddly grow into toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners, grade schoolers, high schoolers, and often college students. With each developmental stage comes different aspirations, expectations, desires and abilities. Our precious sweet, bouncy babies are that no longer. Instead they have grown into different people. Why — out of necessity. That is in the scheme of things. Children grow and change to meet the needs of the world and hopefully find the purpose for which God made them.

No one avoids the ambiguity that comes with having to adjust to different situations. Often we choose the transformation in our lives, but just as often, the condition is thrust upon us, without a moment’s notice. We feel that we’re placed within a surreal environment from which there’s no escape. A sudden death can cause such a feeling.

I recently listened to a famous person that had drastically changed during his later years. As a young man, he was wild and unpredictable. He was searching for what would make him happy. Consequently, Burton lived on the surface of life without daring to look inside himself to see what was there. He flounced around going from one identity to another and from one place to another. Needless to say, Burton finally saw that he was wasting a lot of time — and for what? He looked around his surroundings and the kind of people with whom he associated. He noticed that their conversations were artificial, and mostly, small talk. The realization caused Burton to finally develop a new plan for his life. He, particularly, pondered his values -- and what was important. He decided that time was too precious, too short, too limited and valuable to squander. Burton told his audience that he became a changed man, all because he reached within his head and heart to see and feel what the real Burton was like -- what he desired and what it would take for him to be able to feel comfortable in his own skin. “I no longer participate in shallow conversations with those that make only small talk, and I am more conscious of what is genuinely important, he said. “Time is too fleeting to misuse.” To not squander time does not mean that one needs to never rest — quite to the contrary. If taking breaks refreshes us, or if watching television or a ballgame is relaxing; that is not a waste of time.

Everyone changes as he/she experiences various happenings, sorrows, life lessons and joys. We would never want others or ourselves to stay stuck in the same mold forever. Although many adults attempt to imitate their teenagers, trying to stop their own clocks, they can look silly or out of sync for their ages. Babies and youth, are neither expected to look like or act as a teenager or an adult. Such a miracle would go against the natural order of humanity. They are incapable of staying the same, and unfit to perform the actions of those older. Their constant change is out of necessity, just as we adults can’t stop ourselves from changing due to the aging process. Although we may not realize it, we have gained much wisdom along the way. As we’ve encountered change, from outside, we ourselves have changed inside. Know that life is constant change for everybody. Don’t fight it because it’s through change that we grow. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of the world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (Romans 12:2).