Monday’s Inspirational Reads Chapter 8
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Change.
It is such a pesky little word that can mean two totally different things. The author even addresses this when she refers to good changes and bad changes.
Interestingly, as I think about changes I find that change is never really in-between, is it. I can’t really even think of a time when change is in the middle. Change is either good or bad, and like Holley says in chapter 8, change is either expected or unexpected.
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What I find so incredibly perceptive is how the author points out that whether change is anticipated or unanticipated, change is always met with a certain amount of stress.
Change is a very active word. As she says, change forces us to do something. We must react, we must respond, and even the very act of doing nothing at all is still a result of having made a decision – it’s just the decision to not respond.
In the Finding Joy in the Journey journey that we are taking here together, we are acknowledging that there are times that the only thing we can control when life seems to spin us out of control is how we respond to it.
The truth is, change can make or break us. We either become stronger when change occurs in our life or we succumb and become a victim to the circumstances that surround us.
As this chapter points out, we must start first with knowing what we can change..and what we cannot. We can’t change the diagnosis, we can’t change the rebellion of our child, we can’t change the flood that has taken our home. However, we can control our mindset. We can control choosing to move forward or remaining stagnant while letting the storms of life beat us against the shore.
The best gift in this chapter is that the author gives us the actionable steps that we can choose to embrace when change happens in our lives.
We don’t have to throw our hands up in the air and wail, “What am I supposed to do?!”
Now, in chapter seven, we’ve been given the gift of how to answer that question.
Then at the end of the chapter she reminds us to look to the past to see that we do really know how to navigate the waters of change already because we’ve actually done it before, numerous times.
You can be entirely unable to control even one thing about your situation, but you can always choose your reaction to it. And that is the hidden gem in this chapter.
I think my favorite sentences in this chapter are the last two, found on page 165.
“The grass isn’t greener on the other side after all. It’s greenest where you help it grow.”
See what I mean? Powerful stuff right there.
Do you want to know more about the inspiration behind this post? It came from a chapter in the book we are reading as a community.
Even if you’re not along for the group study of this book, it is a book that I know you’ll love.
There will be posts labeled as Monday’s Inspirational Reads here every Monday and Thursday. Feel free to grab a book and reflect with us! Here’s the book we’re reading!
You’re Going to Be Okay: Encouraging Truth Your Heart Needs to Hear, Especially on the Hard Days
You can read more about our book club by clicking on this link.
Want to join in the the next book club? Beginning February 22, 2016, this is the book we’ll be discussing next. Grab yours here and join in!
