A River at the Zoo?

Change can bring about much anxiety. I don’t like change unless it is change I have pursued myself. I don’t like imposed change…the type life throws at you without warning. I really dislike that. I get it from my Father. He was a MAJOR control freak and he did not deal well with “un-authorized” change. Everything had to be just “like so” which meant, it had to be just the way he liked it, no exceptions. He built our childhood home in 1961 and kept it the same all throughout the decades until the day he died. The same furniture he bought when he and my Mom got married in 1955 was still there last December. Nothing ever changed in that house, right down to the coffee pot…yes, it was the same old one that they got as a wedding gift…the thing is a true relic.

Change brought a lot of anxiety to my Father’s spirit. He knew how he wanted things, and he couldn’t handle people/life/God messing with his plans. He was fortunate that God allowed him to keep his neat little order for most of his days on this earth. But when big changes happened, when my Mom fell ill, his world crumbled. He didn’t know how to handle it. He was a wreck. It was sad to see him struggle with the certainty of the unknown. I’m the same way. I want my little life to be preserved the way I like it. I don’t want anything to disturb it. But that is not what God wants for me/us. He doesn’t want us to be like icky, stinky, yucky stagnant water. He wants us to be like a river with a flowing current that promotes life inside of it and keeps its surrounding vibrant!

The problem is I don’t know how to be a river and flow…I am rigid and my limbs begin to break when the wind blows. And unlike my Dad, life has given me plenty of wind that has caused significant re-arranging. My life has not been the museum-like existence that my Father was able to enjoy. My life has so far been more like a zoo. And like the zookeepers, I spend my days bathing monkeys, reaching giraffes, pulling donkeys, and shoveling waste among many other fun activities. And then, there are the added bonuses of unexpected problems like illnesses and disease that cause some of the zoo exhibits to be closed for a while.

I’m not cut out for life at the zoo! Did God make a mistake?

No, of course not, God does not make mistakes. According to His purpose I am right where I am supposed to be and my life is just the way He planned it to be. He doesn’t want me to be like my Dad. He wants me to be like a river. Better yet, He wants me to be in Him, the River of Life, and flow towards that abundant life to which His children are called. The life where everything is possible because He is the current! Because He’s got us by His right hand...because He’s got us when we fall...because He mends our wounds and comforts our hearts.

He doesn’t want me to live the life that my Father lived. He wants to transform me into someone He could use for His purpose and His Kingdom plan, and for that I am humbled, honored and thankful, even if it means I have to be a river at the zoo : )

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8: 28

Linking with Be Simply Better