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Personal Change Diary 3

Personal Change Diary paul yogi nipperess 08082006

What does change look like and is God
the author of change???

Attitudes towards Jesus can change, due
to events in our lives, for better or
worse ..... !~!

On the upside, we often turn to God in
our deepest depression or darkest hours
of sickness and sin, turning to Him for
His Love and Grace to restore our Faith
in Him and improve our lives.

Our prayers at the times are often more
intense, meaningful, earnest and honest,
than in times of peace and contentment
in our lives.

For example, a man found himself in a
foreign country with no job prospects
and living a life of debauchery and sin.
Eventually, some would say his sins were
being punished by the onset of serious
illness, that he was unable to shake
off. It was only after he had exhausted
all the common remedies, that he turned
back to God with his prayers, asking for
His forgiveness and help in his recovery
from the severe illness.

Very soon, the man’s health started to
improve and his circumstances started to
change, but only after he recognised
God, as the author of change in his
life.

On the downside, sometimes changes in
our lives can cause us to easily lose
Faith in God and question His overall
plan for our lives.

Two examples of this have recently
surfaced, both of them being mothers,
whose children died in tragic circumstances.


G’s story:

Gender: Female
Age: 53
Married – 4 times
Children - 2 surviving daughters and several grand-children.



Background:
G grew up in a family, with 2 boys and
2 girls in various country towns.

After two broken marriages in regional
areas, she moved to the city, where she
held down several high-pressure jobs,
including a desktop-publishing business
of her own.

It was about this time, some 20 years
ago, that she stopped believing in God,
after enduring the trauma of losing her,
then eldest daughter, aged 9 years, at
the hands of a hit-and-run driver.

Subsequently, G set up her child’s
bedroom as it was, when the child was
alive ... she has continued to maintain
this shrine, ever since.

After a third marriage failed, she moved
back to a 100yo old cottage on a
property, near small country town, in
the wheatbelt. There she was living,
with the grave of her daughter, within
sight of the back door of her cottage,
about 400 metres away. G also set up
the shrine in the bedroom of this
cottage, as well.

We can recognise the shrine in this
case, as a form of idolatry, taking G
away from God’s Love and Grace.

In an effort to gauge G’s commitment to
God, a confrontational question was
posed, similar to Jay Adam’s approach
to pastoral counselling ..... and the
response from G, came with emotions
flowing to the surface:

“..... but, I haven’t believed in God,
since the day my child was taken away
from me. How can I believe that any good
God would allow that to happen???”

“Before that, I was a very good believer ..... “

Clearly, in response to her own grief,
G had unwittingly shifted from her faith
in God, into a form of idolatry to ease
her pain. In doing so, she had rejected
the word of God, therefore living
outside His Light.

1 Corinthians 10:14 Wherefore, my
dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.

Moving on with pastoral counselling, G
agrees, by dismantling the shrine and
coming back to God with her prayers,
then she will be following God’s Word
and walking with Him again, but in this
case the change in returning to God, has
been made by the individual’s behaviour,
initially.

-----

May’s story started about one year ago,
when her diabetic daughter overdosed on
insulin and died suddenly.

Since then, she has been unable to
attend church and until the coroners’
enquiry hands down a decision, May is
unable to complete the grieving process.

Though her priest is in contact with
May, her Faith has been shattered,
as she questions, “Why has God allowed
this (event) to happen to her family???”
..... May’s counselling continues.

-----

Personal change will often be marked by
a deliberate change in relationships,
with our friends and associates.

For alcoholics, a positive change would
be to avoid the pub crowd, after work,
taking on some volunteer work, instead
..... ie. visiting patients in the local
hospital.

Addicts can also benefit from a change
of friends, to a group of individuals,
outside of the drug scene.

With maturity, adults can often change
their priorities from personal gain to
better personal relationships, with both
family and friends.

Behaviour Therapy sees changes in our
attitudes and activities as vital, if we
are to avoid further sinful behaviour.

In our quest to be closer to god, we may
also embark on a career change or at
least further education, in a new field
of endeavour, in an effort to fulfil our
own desires and God’s plan for our own
future.

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