I hate change. I'm going to admit it. I hate when things change. It irritates me. Especially after I got married, things changed A LOT. I changed a lot. And I didn't appreciate it. At all. But things are starting to change. Again. Except this time I'm ready. Not because I knew it was going to happen so I prepared. Not because change is inevitable. Definitely not because I like change. Oh no. I'm ready because I've accepted the fact that no matter what changes may come, I will always be Heilala.
Have you ever watched a mountain? Odd question, I know. But have you ever really just sat there and watched a mountain throughout a day? With Utah's bipolar weather, it's sunny, rains and hails in the same day. The valley gets covered by a thick layer of smoke because of that recent fire. It pours and pours and pours, while it's 70degrees outside. It's constantly changing. But the mountain still stands. That's how I want to be. Firm and immovable. Like the mountain. (Image by
sabaca)
Changes of life, other people, the weather, the gaining of knowledge; there is always constant change. Yet we are still the same person we were 2 minutes ago. 20 minutes ago. Our body's change, people come and go, we learn more, but are we still that same person?
In first grade, I remember this specifically because my mom always reminded me, I wanted to be a teacher. I wrote it out in my 5 year old penmanship on yellow construction paper, because that was my favorite color at that time. I wanted to be a teacher because I wanted to help students and make a difference in the world. Then throughout the years I wanted to be a singer, an actor, a dancer, a fire fighter, an astronaut, a public speaker, a writer, and pretty much everything. It wasn't until I hit my junior year in high school that I realized what I really wanted to be. I wanted to be a high school teacher. I want to help students learn and grow in a subject that I view as difficult and demanding. And my favorite color is now yellow. Again. I went through many changes, mainly because of my peers, and I thought I wanted this, or liked that, or whatever. But deep down inside of me, I knew who I wanted to be. I wanted to be a teacher to help other students and make a difference in the world. Through those changes I learned how to find the real me. And I never really changed. I knew deep down inside of me that I wanted to help students, to make a difference in the world, and to teach. I had tried to "change" to fit those around me, but in the end, I'm still the me I've always been.
Now you're probably wondering about people who do make a dramatic change. Where they had an addiction, or were very closed minded about one thing, or whatever the situation may be. Have you ever wondered if that was what they were really like BEFORE they ever became that person??? I know someone who was a bit of a rebel. Never graduated, went out drinking and smoking, fighting, messing around,divorced with kids, pretty much had no plan for life. Blew with the wind, just a lost soul. I mean his circumstances made it so he had no other choice. He moved here from Tonga, had to work, was around those kind of people, what else would you expect? Now, 21 years later, he has a beautiful wife, 7 beautiful kids, 5 grand kids, doesn't touch a single glass of alcohol or a cigarette, has a good job and is the 2nd counselor to the bishop of his church. You would think that he went through a massive change right?? No. He found the real him inside, and let go of all the extra baggage. He thought he was a drinker, a smoker, a rebel of all sorts, but in reality, he's just a big sweet guy with a big heart. He's my dad:) The change wasn't when he started putting his life in order, it was when he started being rebellious. When my mom came into his life, she brought him back to the guy he's always been. The kind, caring, clean cut, loving, giving kinda guy. (Don't get me wrong, he was probably a sweet awesome guy during his rebellious stage, but actions speak louder than words.) Before he let the circumstance make HIM. Now he's taking charge of any circumstance that comes his way.
We went through a lot growing up. We lost our house 2 times, we moved over 10 times, went to 6 different schools, we were so poor sometimes all we had was my moms food storage and we went wherever we were needed. But my parents stayed strong in the church, to each other and took care of us kids. They taught us the same principles whether we were in Hawaii or Utah. They made sure to keep us on the right path whether we were making good choices or bad choices. And most of all, they were there for us whether we wanted them or not. No matter where we went, who we were with, what circumstance we were under, they kept their standards locked. They were firm and immovable. Like a mountain. That's who I want to be like.
Helaman 5:12 "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
I know I went all spiritual, but what my point is, that we don't have to succumb to the worlds changes. "Be in the world, but not of it." Just because we live on this world doesn't mean we have to live like the rest of the world. "We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a physical experience." We're here to experience life, but also to be tested. Will we change when the world tells us we must be this or that? Or will we stand as who we are despite what the world says?
Now let me make it clear that I am talking about YOU. Change within YOU. Not the changes of technology, or the changes of the financial world, or even when you're progressing and making that "change" to better yourself. I'm talking about your beliefs, your standards, that "stuff" that makes you. Your bank account doesn't make you, nor does your big cars, fancy homes, even your JOB doesn't make you. Those things will change. But will YOU change when all these changes come about? Some may argue that change is good. I agree. On some changes. But I think your beliefs and standards should remain firm and immovable, and that your actions should speak what you believe. Let life's changes come, and let them go, but stay true to yourself and what you believe in. Stay firm and immovable to what you believe. May you weather life's storms and changes, and may your lives be filled with sunshine on a cloudy day. (Thank you Temptations:))
Thanks for reading:) and have a wonderfully fantastic Sunday!!
