Change: Life's Only Constant

(May 29, 2014)

God is the only constant in my life. Where do I look for security: income, relationships, my own abilities? But all of those can change. What happens when my expenses outweigh my income? Or when I move away from a familiar place (or even when I return to a familiar place and relationships that I've had for many years have also changed)? Or when I myself...change? I think that "security" ought to be a little more stable. Yes, there are times in my life that I have thought God is different. The truth that I'm realizing is that I only discover new things about who He has always been. And isn't that how any relationship works?

God is not the only incomprehensible being in this world. Human beings. We are made in His image and likeness. Part of that means we too, are incomprehensible. I could spend a lifetime with one special woman for the rest of my days and still not know the complete depths of her heart. It would be very easy to have this realization and cast aside the effort it takes to get to know a person, or to get to know God. What is the point in setting out on an adventure where the goal seems so overwhelmingly impossible? Perhaps it's the glimmer of hope that in pursuit of that goal, our lives just might be changed in a radical way. We might just experience...miracles. And if we don't summit the mountain of life here on earth, is the journey not worth anything? I can tell you from a very literal standpoint, that is not the case.

Three years ago, I attempted to summit a peak in Colorado. My group lost the trail in the snow and had to improvise. We ended up climbing on all fours, spread out across a valley of boulders. We got back on the trail shortly after that and arrived at the base of the final ascent a little while later. Late enough, in fact, for a threatening afternoon storm to take form right above us. Our group decision leaned to the safety of all of us and we did not make it to the summit that day. We did not reach what we had originally set out to do. But that was one of the most memorable experiences of that entire summer. I learned an important lesson that, when in a leadership position, it's okay to make mistakes (i.e. leading the entire group in the wrong direction). Once we recognized the mistake, we stopped, collaborated, and found our path again, through some rocky times, mind you. ;) If you thought you were going to get through something written by me without a pun, then it's been too long since we've hung out and we should go out for a beer or something soon!

We did not take the path that we set out for, but we were in constant search for it. And no, we didn't make it to the summit, but we returned to the base that day with an experience that could never be taken away from any one of us. So it is with our search for God, as well as our search to know one another. We will never be able to grasp the infinite. It will always be at least one more step ahead of us. But the journey is worth it. As for "security," well, accept the fact that the only thing that will never change, is that life is always changing.