Change is in the air 🍁

Happy Saturday ladies! I pray you all had a fantastic week! Can you believe tomorrow is October?!? Where did September go??? But honestly, i'm so excited because Fall is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE season. Give me candy corn, colored foliage, and pumpkin spice and i'll be a happy camper. So, as we know, with the changing of seasons often come some other, not-so-enjoyable changes. We have to go back to work, the weather gets a little crazy, we fall back (no pun intended) into the busyness and rush of life, etc. I'm a person who does NOT like change. I prefer routine and I don't often leave my comfort zone unless i'm forced to. Sometimes (actually a lot), life throws you curve balls and there is nothing you can do about inevitable change. Some people lose their jobs or get transferred, others have children, some lose beloved family/friends, relationships begin and end plus the illnesses, financial problems, and unsureness in between. But, God uses these times to help us grow. They are not by any means easy and everyone handles these situations differently. You know that saying, "grow through what you go through?" Well, that's a really easy thing to slap on a mug or motivational poster, but it's much much harder to put into action. Personally, when something changes, I immediately go into internal panic mode and want to hide. I'd rather curl up under the covers than face the quandary head on. Why? Because it's EASY. It is easier to run away. I've always been more flight than fight; because why confront something you're afraid of if you can just leave it all behind? The answer is: you can't. Let me explain: you cannot really ever truly hide from change. Change is inescapable and sometimes, necessary. Eventually, you'll get tired of running and/or it will all catch up to you. It's kind of like getting a cold; you could technically, "run" away from it; heck you could run out of the doctor's office kicking and screaming if you wanted to, although, I don't recommend this. But eventually, if you already have the virus in your system, the cold will catch up to you and you will be stuffy and have a sore throat. I'm not saying that all change is like a cold because some changes are very very good and positive. But we don't run from those often. We don't want to face the hard changes. We try to speak things into existence and we try to reassure ourselves, often badly, that if we just hold onto whatever scraps of our current life we can, we'll be good. But here's the thing: we cannot grow if we do not step out of our comfort zones. We will always be stuck in the same place do ting the same things because that is what is familiar. I find myself realizing that a lot of the time, the things that i've grown accustomed to have become tedious, annoying, and just plain unhealthy; but i'm so afraid of taking the next step that I just stay there or if I try to change, I end up returning to those things, like "a dog to its vomit" (Proverbs 26:11) If we think about it like that, it not only sounds super gross but it's evident that something needs to change in order for that NOT to happen anymore. That is mostly my experience but yours could be totally different! The changes you come into contact with you may not be able to control. But, regardless of how change presents itself in our lives, we must learn to embrace it. A lot of people think that New Year's is the time for change but the truth is, it can be ANY time. Personally, I think this is a great time of year for me. I often think about the fact that the leaves on the trees are dying but God still makes them so very beautiful, even in their last moments. SO, this fall, i'm challenging myself to be like a tree; to "die" to my old self and truly embrace the changes that Christ puts in my life. I pray the same for each of you. Want to challenge yourself too? Feel free to send me emails or comments on the blog!

Love y'all and happy fall!!!

- Mariah xoxo