Thankful in the midst of changes

By Jeff Becraft

When we first moved to where we live now 30 years ago, there were all kinds of trees between the interstate and where our neighborhood was. There were a few houses along the way that were older and had been there for a while. For the most part, though, we were just driving through woods… and it was a beautiful sight.

As you can imagine, over the years, that scenery has changed. (And I am not necessarily someone who likes change.) Now all kinds of things have been built along that road. But there were still some sections that were just woods and that was kind of refreshing, being able to drive by that.

Well, one of those sections has now been leveled. It is another change in the landscape. And it’s a big change because this is a big piece of property that they are now doing new construction on.

Now, the bright side of this is that it’s going to be a grocery store. And if you read the Friday email weeks ago, you know I like grocery shopping. So if the landscape is going to change, well, that’s at least a good reason for it to be changing… as it will be another grocery store for me to go to… and get more items than I intended.

As we go through life, the landscape changes. It may not always be what we want and may not always be what we’re looking for. But we can pretty much count on the fact that things around us are going to change in some way or another. I think it’s important in life as we face changes, that we learn to navigate those well.  Hang on to what is good and get rid of what is bad.  Those things we can’t change?… accept those with joy wherever we are. We can make the most of it. While I really don’t like the fact that a bunch of the trees have been mowed down on that two mile stretch of road between the interstate and our housing development, I have also learned to embrace the benefits of the new.

And whether we like driving through trees or we like being in the middle of the hustle and bustle of civilization or we like grocery shopping or whatever it is, let’s remember this weekend that many people paid an awful price for us to be able to enjoy those freedoms.  Some of them we will never have met or even know their names.  And that should fill us with an even deeper sense of admiration and gratitude.  They did it for us.

So let’s remember them with a thankful heart.

Jeff Becraft is the Director of Our Place of Hope and the Director Emeritus for Youth Corps and has dedicated much of his life to helping shift the vision of people’s lives. Our Place of Hope is a paradigm shift for people living with mental illness that encourages them to regain meaning, purpose, and hope for their lives. You can connect with Jeff at  [email protected].