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MARCH 12
THE BLESSING OF CHANGE
“Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and
of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the
Lord smelled the pleasing odor, the Lord said in his heart, ‘I will never again
curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human
heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature
as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and
heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.’” (Gen 8: 20-22)
The changeability of temporal reality, like changes in temperature, or
in the times of day and night, is a blessing. One thing does not change,
and that is, my obligation to tame and re-direct the “inclination of the
human heart,” my inclination that is “evil from youth.” But amidst this
constant, unchangeing obligation, of spiritual struggle, I have the relief
and pleasant distraction of uncontrollable changes in physical reality,
like night turning to day. Why is this a relief? Because I don’t have to
worry about that which I don’t control.
I’ll note the same about changes in our liturgical “seasons.” The cycles
of fasts and feasts offer me changes of pace, amidst one unchangeing,
constant objective of working on my heart, on aligning it to God. In a
word I am glad it’s Lent, just like I will be glad when it’s over. I thank
God today for bringing His changes into my life, in ways I happily do not
control.
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