Change can be an exciting adventure, but it can also be a very difficult thing. Likely everyone at some point in their lives has experienced some major change that was difficult and maybe even scary.

Even if a change might be for the better, it can still be legitimately tough. I think that is because change is built on the new and the unknown. Change means something you have never done or experienced is becoming your new normal and that what you are used to being normal is, instead, a part of the past.

When life is changing, there are countless worries and “what-ifs” to ask. There is a period of fear and trying (and perhaps failing) and making adjustments. Sometimes all you can do is push on and function in survival mode until, hopefully, you adjust and whatever change occurred becomes routine – the new norm.

It is tough. There is no doubt about that. I can relate. My life for the past year and a half has been built on constant change, adjustment, and adaptation to the new norm. I used to fight it. I used to run away from it. I used to be terrified of it. But, somewhere along the way, I realized that if I stopped fighting, and opened my mind and heart to whatever change I was experiencing, God could use change to teach me a lot of things.

One thing I have been thankful to learn about is how faithful God is in change. He has shown me that he has a plan even when I don’t. He is there even when the days are weary and full of darkness. When life is changing and nothing seems normal…solid in our lives, and we’re stumbling around, searching for something to ground ourselves – some sense of normalcy, routine, purpose: he is there.

Another thing that God has been teaching me is that no matter what, there is always something to be joyful about. Life might be changing, but there is joy even in the unknown. There is joy in knowing Christ. There is joy in knowing that he has a plan when we do not. There is joy in trusting Him. There is joy in the adventure of the unknown and the journey of adjusting and finding the new normal in life.

God is always present. He is always with us. He is faithful: no matter the change, no matter the situation and circumstances, no matter how hopeless life may seem. There is always something to be joyful about. He has a beautiful plan for my life, just as he does for yours. He is faithful and will never give up on us. Take joy in that and run to him.