Change is difficult. Change can be terrifying, unsettling, and disorienting. But change is beneficial. Change wrestles us out of our comfort zone and ritualistic ruts, and places us in unchartered territory that forces us to grow from the inside out.

We have made many modifications over the last two years and I can honestly say, I wouldn’t change a thing about what we have gone through! When God called us to leave California and move to South Carolina, I knew it wouldn’t be easy. Nothing worth doing ever is. But like Abram in the book of Genesis, we were being called to a new land- it was a giant step of faith, trusting God that what He promised us, He would do.

The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” He told Abram that He would make him into a great nation, bless him and make his name great. We didn’t quite get that message. We’re not starting a new nation here in SC just trying to fulfill the calling He’s given us for today.

It’s still a faith walk. Navigating the waters of fresh surroundings, with unfamiliar faces, a new job, and a start-up ministry requires clinging to the One who brought us here. It means looking to Him with the utmost gratitude for ushering us into a beautiful location, where kindness is the rule of thumb and a slower pace is the culture to live by.

As Jennifer Dukes Lee says in her book Growing Slow, “God causes us to reconsider our stubborn positions and to see this beautiful and broken world from other vantage points.” That is what we have experienced. Altering our environment is healthy even if it is hard. Hard means God is doing something in us that couldn’t otherwise be accomplished within our former, ho-hum, everyday life.

We gain perspective on people, places, and priorities when we are willing to modify life and do scary things.

Yes, change is risky. But the most valuable occurrences in our one precious life require some risk. It means trusting God in what he’s calling you to, laying aside your fear and trepidation, and like Abram, participating in the new journey ahead.