Unexpected

I was sitting on my couch when the doorbell rang. I saw the man pull up and walk to the door, but I thought he would just leave something... Nope. He rang the doorbell. He looked sort of familiar, but I couldn't place him. I answered the door, and lo and behold, it was the head pastor at the church that I visited on Sunday. I always put down my address when I visit a new church. As strange as this sounds, I am curious about what churches do with visitors. After years of talking and watching my dad deal with visitors, I wanted to see it in action. Well, Ashland UMC just upped the ante. I can honestly say that I don't really know of a church that their head pastor visits the new visitors! Some churches have members stop by. This is a first.

I have also concluded that it's a very small world. This pastor is on the board at BSC and knows some of the same people that I do... Strange how the world is all connected. Lovely and unexpected. I think I'm going back on Sunday. :) Can't wait to see what happens....

Change - a big word

Change. Not a word that anyone likes to hear on a regular basis. What does it mean when a person is different? Is it that we get to know them better and our opinions change? Or is it that we change gradually everyday so that we become someone with a different outlook? Can people change? These are all questions that effect who we become.

When people have relationship issues, a common comment is, "You are not the person I knew when we met." Does that mean that the person was not supposed to change over time? Honestly, people are always changing. This does not mean that a person changes completely from one day to the next. However, I do believe that we make decisions each day that slightly change our personalities leading us down different paths in life. The simple decision to ignore the truth could end in denial and a bitter outlook, whereas another trivial decision could lead a person down a completely different path. I don't think that people are always aware of these trivial decisions. I know that I do not have a plan when I decide where to go to lunch. But, that location may completely change who I encounter and to whom I become close. A trivial decision to have lunch with someone that you don't know, could expand your mind to places that you never though it would go.

So, when someone comments that "I've changed," I take it as a compliment. Is the point of life not to grow and experience all things in life? This would include the good, the bad, and the plain ugly. This does not mean, however, that I am not Anna. Each person will most likely always retain certain characteristics of who they are. So, maybe this is not a morphing process but more like polishing. God will take us and form us into what he wants us to be. So, change is a scary and uncertain thing but not permanent nor final. In some ways, that is very reassuring. I hope that I never stop changing or learning new things.