Harold, the Dust Mite

Hi, my name is Sarah and I HATE change.

So, my dad got re-married about two weeks ago and is going to be selling his condo where I have lived off-and-on for about 4 years (so, I have a lot of stuff there). Let's consider the changes this entails, shall we? Well, actually, let's skip past the re-marriage stuff and move straight to the moving thing.

Here's the thing with moving. Even if you're leaving a place you weren't staying at all that much or that maybe you didn't even like, there's still something really sad about it. It's really depressing for me to take pictures off the wall, because those pictures provided comfort to me. Watching the wall go from a multi-colored mural back to a blank palette feels like a defeat. Removing trinkets and artifacts from a room that was once your own but will now belong to someone else just plain ol' sucks.

So, imagine all of that and multiply it by at least ten--because I hate change more than most. If I'm going to change something and smile about it, it's because I've thought long and hard over it and I've made sure it's something I want to do. However, when it's something that someone else decides, that forces me to make changes, I have an extremely hard time.

Some types of change I don't mind--like the occasional redecorating. This is one of the changes being "forced" on me because of the move. Today, I was considering with some degree of pleasure how I would reorganize the bedroom of the house I live in now. I was thinking of what things I would put on top of my dresser, realizing that some things would have to go. Then it occurred to me that I'd have to dust before rearranging anything. This is a simple observation, yes. But when you dust as often as I do (meaning...never), you think, "Ew. There will be a pretty thick layer by now..."

Please don't puke; I have a point.

Why don't I dust more often? Well, for one, because I'm plumb lazy. But the other reason is that I never think to, because I never change anything on my dresser. The same stuff has been up there for years. I never move things, I rarely add to it, and therefore, I never think of dusting it. But the dust, over time, can actually harm the wood, as well as getting into the air and aggravating my allergies. So, the effect of not changing things is negative.

Same thing goes with staying in one physical position for too long--you can cut your circulation off. Blood doesn't get to all the parts of the body when the leg or arm is bent for too long, and the foot falls asleep, or the whole arm goes completely numb (if you've never awaken with this, be grateful). You have to change something frequently in order to keep all of your body alive and functioning properly.

Change stimulates, invigorates, sometimes angers us. Usually it points out a weakness that we must, in turn, hand over to God to change in our lives. What happens when we let things get stale or cease to move in a forward direction? Dust collects. Circulation gets cut off. We stop growing and we begin to die.

Consider the bowl of water for my cat downstairs. If left unchanged for a day or two, the water will become stagnant and eventually a layer will form over top of it. Disgusting, isn't it? That's why the bowl has to be rinsed and refreshed at least once a day. Stagnant water is undrinkable. It's unusable for the purpose it was intended and must be thrown out.

In order to stay alive--and not just alive but growing--I have to undergo change. It has proven to be very painful at times. But I would rather take up my cross and follow Jesus, futher on and further in, than give into my fear of pain and remain here on the road, useless, stagnant, dead.

What's a Christmas Gram? I want one! Pt. 2

I was reading the story of the Magi today in Matthew, and I read that the Magi were known for studying the stars.

Yeah, I know, that's nothing too deep. But picture this. Can you imagine three (or however many) guys who spend all their time studying the stars--they have a passion for it--and they know everything there is to know about stars...and then suddenly, a star that they have never seen before (after years and years of study) appears in the sky. And you gotta think that if this star indicates that Christ has been born, it's gotta be a pretty magnificent star. Think of how excited the Magi must have been. What a discovery! I imagine that their curiosity was beyond peaked, and the thrill of the unknown was reawakened in their very hearts. And because of their interest, their years of study, and their curiosity, they met Jesus and ended up protecting his very young life. Isn't that something?

I think it's cool how God used their interests to lead them to His Son. There are practical applications of this idea, but I'll leave that discovery up to you.

Merry Christmas.

What's a Christmas Gram? I want one! Pt. 1

Does holiday music make you feel just a teensy bit depressed? It does that to me. I refused to listen to any Christmas music on the radio until about 9:30pm on Christmas Eve night, as I was driving back from my church services in Summerville to my home in Mt. Pleasant. And even then, in the midst of the actual holiday bustle (not the preliminary stuff that seems to start in August these days), I felt a little bit of discontent.

Why? I think most of the songs written for Christmas (not including Christmas carols, of course) are geared toward romance of some sort. Even if the lyrics aren't romantic, the orchestration usually is. So if you're single like me, you may start thinking, "Hmmm. That sounds romantic. I hate it. Stupid, shmaltzy Christmas music." This holiday has NOTHING to do with romance! So why all the romantic music? The kind of music they play tries to make you pine for either someone or for a time that has ended or perhaps will never be. So let's boycott it!!!

That's depressing, huh? :) Sorry. I am actually in a pretty good mood. This has been a better holiday than most, and I'm thoroughly enjoying myself. So...stay tuned for part 2.