I love this time of year. And, when I say I love it, I mean I LOVE it. So. Much! I love the beautiful colors most of all. Although I'm not a fan of cold weather, I do love the crisp, chilly fall air. Change is in the air.
Change can be a beautiful thing. This year has been a year of change for me. I feel like that has been God's lesson for me - learn from change. I'm still working on figuring out what lessons I'm supposed to learn from change. Apparently I'm supposed to learn something because I've felt that every corner I turn this year a new change has appeared! It's been a recurring theme in my life. For the longest time, my life felt stagnant. It felt like nothing was changing and nothing was going to change. Well, turns out, it does happen!
January of this year brought some change right off. At the beginning of the year, the prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints passed away. This resulted in a change in leadership.
Shortly thereafter in January, I was offered and accepted a new job. This was such a prayed for and longed for change.
I've already changed desk locations at my work (ok, small thing, but still!). And, over the summer, my boss announced he was asked to head up another department. I was completely devastated over this (truly). I really love my boss. This change has been a long process. They just hired my boss' replacement, who starts at the end of this month. I think Heavenly Father knew I needed months to process this, which has helped.
My church congregation changed from having Sacrament Meeting first, to having it as the last meeting earlier this year. Small thing, but not a huge fan of this change. Hoping it'll change back with the new schedule. Which is another change. Recently, it was announced that church will now be 2 hours instead of 3 (which is a VERY welcomed change!).
Also at church this year, my congregation got a new Bishopric. I also was given a new calling (service assignment), which has been such a great thing for me.
Also this year, I got a new roommate. The person she replaced is one of my very best friends. I was not expecting her to move out. This change was really unexpected and hard for me. It came about the same time I was getting a new boss and new Bishop as well.
All of the above events are things that have happened without me doing a thing. Which, I've been reminded that God is in control. He's over it all.
However, I have been proactive in making intentional changes in a few areas of my life this year, which has been awesome. I started going to the gym in the morning sometimes. That's huge for me. I'm good at working out in the evening, but going in the morning is a huge struggle.
I've also been reading more books. I'm trying to be more productive. I've really enjoyed learning about others' lives by reading biographies and memoirs.
Another recent change I am in the process of making is spending less time on social media. I'm currently participating in a 10-day social media fast. The women of my church were encouraged to do this by the prophet. So far, it has proven to be a great change. When I do return to social media, I plan to spend less time there.
I guess I can sum this all up by saying change can be a beautiful thing. Yes, it can be hard. But, we're meant to learn, grow, and stretch. I have learned that God is always there. I love the lyrics of the hymn, "Be Still My Soul," which say, "Leave to thy God to order and provide; in every change he faithful will remain."
Can't wait to see what amazing changes He has in store for my life in the future!
