Change

Change. It’s one of the main things that make up the life we live, but why do we all react to it so differently? Growing up as a “pastors kid” I knew change all too well. Moving from church to church, state to state, reestablishing who I was in a new place, who I was with new friends and who I wanted to be as a result of those changes were just a constant in my life. Anticipating that season of change and what it would bring almost became a part time job for me.

Fast forward to tonight and I’m yet again watching Boy Meets World. It is STILL one of my favorite shows and the number one reason I signed up for Disney+, what can I say they took it off of Hulu. I watch it almost every night before I fall asleep and it still makes me laugh so hard I cry (plus I love a little nostalgia). Tonight I was watching one specific episode for the hundredth time and I realized this episode still makes me uncomfortable and I almost skip over it every single time.

In this particular episode Cory, Shawn, Topanga and Angela are wrapping up their high school years and all start opening up college acceptance letters together. When Shawn gets “wait listed” it spins Cory into an emotional whirlwind. A wrench has been thrown in their plan of all going to school together due to the unknown of Shawn getting wait listed. Later in the episode (due to Cory’s whit and determination) Shawn officially gets accepted into Pennbrook, but is caught with the decision of going to school or accepting a full time photography position. Shawn’s decision sends Cory into an even deeper emotional whirlwind as he continues doing everything in his power to control the situations and keep their lives from changing.

That is exactly why this episode makes me so uncomfortable, because I relate so much to that state Cory was in. Once I moved to Indiana I finally found a sense of security and comfort in the “lack of changes” but you know how it goes, once you get comfortable things start to change. One of the biggest changes after living in Indiana was around the months leading up to graduating from Anderson University. I remember realizing how much was going to change in that last year, my closest friends wouldn’t be living just a couple houses or streets away, my friends who I started school with would be graduating without me because I changed my major and had to stay an extra semester. I remember having a hard time realizing my living situation would drastically change, the roommate I had the last 4 years would no longer be living with me and there to do every step of life with me, and wrapping my mind around living with new friends. I remember the weeks leading up to my 25th birthday and having daily meltdowns because I knew that would be a milestone of change for me in so many ways. Cory did everything in his power to prevent his life from changing, even trying to sit forever at Chubbie’s that was changing as he sat there and trying to stop Mr.Feeney from retiring to Wyoming. However, Cory eventually had to acept that he could not control everything and despite what his plans were for him and his friends lives, he had to let go and trust the process. He didn’t like it and he didn’t have to like it but he knew what he had to do.

Going back to how I grew up, I thought it would help me understand the changing seasons of life, and be able to take them on full force. Much to my surprise, I do not take change well at all, I want to make a plan and control how that plan happens. When change does begin to present itself I tend to get really anxious over the situation. Which honestly is kind of a crazy thing because change happens all around us every single day in our life, but not all of that change is as noticeable or life altering. However, when those big moments of change happen we are met face to face with God and he is asking us to trust him and trust his process. God is asking us to trust that he is allowing these changes for good no matter how painful those changes he is making can be.

Towards the end of the episode as Cory is accepting change is necessary his friends and family are reminding him that what he is feeling is okay. They remind him to cheer on his friends despite their changes not fitting his plan and to appreciate the remaining moments they have in high school. So I guess all of this is to say, it is okay to feel like Cory during changes, wanting things to stay the same and feeling a whirlwind of emotions when they don’t. Just remember that during those changes God has something greater in store and to cling to him and trust him and his process during those changes. Don’t let the feelings of anxiety and being overwhelmed over power what God is trying to do in your life. Don’t be so determined to keep life from changing that you miss out on the blessings and amazing doors that open as a result of change. Change doesn’t always mean bad, most of the time it actually means something good is in store. At the end of the episode Eric (of all people) makes a pretty profound statement. It really left me in my tracks and it is something I want to leave you with.

“There’s going to be a lot of changes in your life, Cory. It’s not the changes that matter, it’s how you react to the changes. I mean, that’s what makes you who you are.“