Changing Inside-Out.
We see it at every turn, especially where knick-knacks and touristy things are found. Its eye-catching phrase shows up carved on a plaque here, a chunk of driftwood there. The Serenity Prayer invites us to pause and ponder.
“Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. . .
“the courage to change the things I can. . .
“and the wisdom to know the difference. . .”
These much-read phrases only mark the prayer’s first words.
When I saw that the earlier (Accounting) track was not for me I revisited Oklahoma State Tech – moving a different direction this time (call it ‘course correction’).
I soon found myself perched on a chair in front of a teletype machine. That move (direct result of a changed mind) influenced my future in ways I could have never guessed. Special details of one’s future (God knows why) seem often left hidden a while.
Teletypesetter Perforator Operator. Yes, that was once the actual job title for some of us laboring in the world of print media.
Unforeseen changes were soon underway.
How often has the course of history itself been altered by the changing of some plan – a military strategy, a legislative vote? One person’s words penned long ago speak to the reality of mystery as we aim our squinting eyes toward future horizons, “we see through a glass dimly”*.
What is true of grand historical events is equally true on the personal front. A pretty Montana girl I met during my stint in Cody, Wyoming would later become my wife and the mother of our three children. By God’s grace, she’s sticking with me these many decades later.
Change happens and we are, all of us, creatures made for change. Another way of saying it, we are people in formation. All of us are getting formed. Yet, it goes deeper than this. Ask a follower of Jesus. As image-bearers of God, all people are designed by him and are therein meant to grow to be like him. That is, meant to not be merely formed, but transformed. This is what our designer is after. It really is what we were made for.
Here is another prayer, my prayer. Yours too, maybe?
And so Lord, would you grant to me the serenity (calm readiness) to accept the things I cannot change, and please grant to me the courage to change things about me which you know need changing. You are present to help me. Let it be, Lord. Thank you
©2022 Jerry Lout *Paul, 1 Corinthians 13