Outstretched Arms

Do you know what overwhelms me?

Change.

Change overwhelms me.

Change removes all of my safe guards of comfort and security and leaves me vulnerable and afraid.
Change forces me to admit all of the things about myself that scare me.
Change does not allow me to run or hide.

So I'm here. Quite vulnerable and quite visible- for all my truths, for all my strengths, and for all my weaknesses.
And if I were facing Change by myself, I'm quite certain I would crumble under it's weight.

But,

much stronger than all Change, is this God
--this God who Loves.
A Love that overwhelms me in an entirely different way.
A Love that makes me strong.
A Love that makes me new.
A Love that doesn't just "change me," but rather
A Love that completely transforms me.
A Love that makes me whole.

And suddenly, all of the change that I was facing, isn't so scary.
Fear comes and goes, as it always does,
but it does not overwhelm me.
When the piercing eyes of Change search my soul in the ways that once brought insecurity,
I no longer shy away from it's stare.
I face it because I do not face it alone.
And the strength of God's beautiful Love allows me to be vulnerable and rise to the challenge.

So, here I am, in this new place, on this new journey, as a forever teacher and a forever learner. I embrace the changes. And though I know they will always challenge me, I also know that they will allow me to grow in ways I couldn't even dream of. And as I learn and grow, my Love learns and grows. I not only embrace the changes, but I come to love them dearly. And in everything- literally, in all things, I see God.
I see Him meeting me right where I am. Just like a small child stretching their arms out to be held, through it all, I stretch my arms out to my Beloved Father, begging to be held. I cling to His clothes with all my strength because I need Him always. And no matter how hard I pull or how much I stretch my arms out to him, I'll never be able to reach Him.
But that Father of mine, He loves to hold me. And He knows that I can't reach Him.
So He bends down to me, meeting me right where I am.
His Love shines upon my face as He picks me up, and I am filled with confidence that I will never face Change alone. And I respond to His Love. All that fills my being, is praise, for The One who draws near to me, with outstretched arms.