Keep the change?

Change: truly the king of all mixed blessings.

We Homo sapiens don't particularly care for change. We have entire systems of our body devoted to the seemingly simple task of keeping things on an even keel. Homeostasis, it's called. Without it, we cease to be. Kaput.

Yet, our lifeplan requires drastic, painful changes for the survival of the species. Birth, puberty, menopause--all uncomfortable and unpleasant, but all equally necessary--just to name a few.

So it is usually with a grimace (and tightly-clenched gluteus muscles) that we welcome change when it arrives on our doorsteps. And arrive it does, often, and seldom at a convenient time--if such a thing truly exists. Like toilet paper, we know deep down that we depend on it, but also like TP, we don't like to dwell on the particulars of how it will come into play.

Since my last real post about five weeks ago, I and those nearest and dearest to me have been bathed in change:

1) First, many precious students (and former students--BTW, Tori... update!) graduated from various high schools at the end of May.
VERDICT: Good change. Beats NOT graduating.

2) Ack. Forgot. Before that, I turned 29. Going to have to update my blog header in about a year, I guess.
VERDICT: Good change. Again, it beats the alternative.

3) Found out a few days later at a teacher training thing that one of the new English teachers we hired will also be teaching theater arts.
VERDICT: Good and bad change. I was looking forward to teaching it, but I don't have to spend part of this Summer planning how in the heck I was going to actually do so.

4) Helped assistant coach a sports camp for K-5th graders this week at my church. We offered soccer, basketball, and cheerleading. Guess which one I got to do? (HINT: it didn't actually involve a ball..)
VERDICT: Good change. God love me, I really, REALLY enjoyed learning and teaching cheerleading. Did I miss my calling?

5) We were about 20 minutes into a movie tonight when we got a call from our youth pastor, saying he needed to meet with us to talk. He came over about fifteen 'till ten, and told us that he was resigning, and would most likely leave the church completely.

Wait a minute...

Okay, the formal announcement will be tomorrow (ack again... later today, as I glance at my clock), but he wanted us to know before then since both my wife and I have been involved in the youth virtually since he has, close to...what, eight years ago now? Good grief, I'm old.

This comes on the heels of LOTS of other changes, upheavals, etc. that our church has faced over the last two years.
VERDICT: Good ch... no, wait, Bad cha... no, wait... dang...

This one's a little tougher to call. I mean, yeah, academically I know that when God brings change, it ends up being good in the long run. But as close as we are to our church body, finding things like this out makes one feel, shall we say, a little uneasy. Like my wife put it tonight: "It feels like you're in a big, close family, and you suddenly begin to sense that someone in the room, right in front of you, is dying of cancer... and nobody else has a clue."

VERDICT: Good thing that my God DOESN'T change... otherwise I'd be as unstable as I feel right now.