The Winds of Change are Blowing

The winds of change are blowing
Something new is in the air
I feel His holy anointing
Bidding me to go somewhere
Beyond my wildest dreams
To go wherever He leads
I feel the wind blow
Oh, I can feel the wind blow
The winds of change.

I wrote that song 15 years ago as I was working through yet another season of change in my life.  It seemed that for the first 7 years of my journey as a believer in Jesus, a "Christian," all I had known was change.  And, I had spent my fair share of time resisting it.  After all, everything I had heard was that once I had given my life to Jesus Christ it was supposed to flow in one placid stream.  Granted, there was definitely peace in my heart where at one time there was nothing but anguish and anxiety.  But, I would hardly call my life those 7 years smooth sailing.   And, I would not have described it as a placid stream....more like an Extreme Home Makeover!  

At times, the "placid stream" had rapids....there was an element of the unknown as I approached the next bend that I hadn't anticipated.  The fear of making a mistake and capsizing my boat was almost too much, because I thought the be a good Christian, I had to do everything right and make no mistakes...otherwise I would pay the penalty.


The stability I was looking for was only possibly in something that looked more like a lake: everything calm, no waves, everything staying the same.  It was easy to stay upright and there were fewer mistakes that could be made!  However, the reality as a Christian I was coming to realize that my life was more like a river, and that was the norm for a true disciple.  It was taking me somewhere.  It was impossible to get into the river at one place and get out at the same place without going backwards...I was going somewhere different.  I was farther down the river than when I started.

It was when I learned that God was not mad at me every time I got off with my paddling, or if I happened to capsize or get stuck on the rocks...it was when I began to see that He was a Father, something that was pretty foreign to me, that I truly began finding the stability I had always heard about but had always seemed to elude me.  I had been used to navigating life alone, even as a Christian.  What a relief when I began to see Him as the Father He truly is!

Now, 15 years after that song (22 years after I began walking with Jesus), I am finally learning to embrace the man God has created me to be and to continue allowing the Good News of His Gospel change me and make me more like Jesus.  There's peace in change.  There's joy in change.  In fact, probably my worst nightmare would be to wake up in 15 years and see no noticeable change/no noticeable progress in becoming more like Christ!  Talk about a difference! 

I think writing that song was a turning point in how I viewed this life known as Christianity. The key to peace is in the embrace; to embrace God by embracing the place He has us, and to know that nothing can separate us from His love.