Word of the day: CHANGE

CHANGE FOR A DOLLAR
There used to be a commercial on TV (I can’t remember who/what it was advertising) where a couple digs underneath their sofa cushions for all the loose change and comments about how that is their retirement savings account. Scott and I both related to that commercial because neither one of us thinks we will ever be able to retire. We’re just going to have to keep on working until we die. I’ll probably be the little old lady working as a grocery store check-out clerk who is s-o-o-o slow and wants to chat about all your purchases. Scott thinks maybe if he ever gets out of church work, he might be able to get a job at a funeral home. That would make it convenient. You know, for the end. We will probably truly need the employee discount.

Anyway.

That commercial resonated with us so that we started calling the jar on our dresser our “retirement fund” and it stuck. We’ve been calling it that for several years now. It’s our loose change jar. It’s actually a tall, tropical drink glass with a round bottom and bell-like top. We throw all our change it there instead of carrying it around in our pockets.

It was almost full so yesterday I emptied it and began counting and rolling nickels, dimes, pennies, and quarters. I finished up today. The total dollar amount came to $78. I bet if we had let it go until it was completely full it would have held exactly $100. For some reason, I just had to get that change counted and summed up today. We can start over tomorrow with an empty jar.

CHANGE IN THE WEATHER
On a totally unrelated note, it snowed in the South Carolina Lowcountry today. While it’s not completely foreign, snow is not all that common around here. It snowed lightly all afternoon. Most of it melted as it hit the ground, but some of it stuck. I had snow on my car when I left the office and headed home. When I got home, my roof was lightly covered with it. The white roof really brightened up the whole place. Our roof is usually always shadowed by trees. The clean, white snow was a pleasant surprise and quite nice for a change. The snow will most likely be gone before nightfall. We’ll wake up tomorrow to a sunny forecast.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD
And on a third not really related note either, I watched the CNN.com live feed of the presidential inauguration today while I was at work. I was alone in the office. The postman came to deliver the mail and he stayed and watched with me a while. Honestly, I was so over the whole election thing long before I even was able to cast my vote back in November, so I just wasn’t in with all the hype of the ceremonies today. I must admit, however, that seeing all those people in the Capitol mall was striking.

There were an estimated two million Americans there for what I saw was one common purpose – to transfer power to a new leader. The amazing thing is that the power and authority changed from one man to the other without force, without military action, without gunfire, without coercion. That is really is no small thing. Regardless of who our president is today, or was yesterday, we live in a remarkable country.

Our sovereign God has allowed Obama to be placed in the position as leader of our country. Since God has allowed it, then He also has a purpose in it that can be used for His glory. Of course, President Obama’s key component for his campaign was ‘change’. Maybe it’s those changes that Obama envisions that will be used to fulfill God’s purpose. Or, maybe the change that will come will be in President Obama himself.

I’m going wake up tomorrow and the grey, snowy clouds will have changed to sunshine. I’ll take my $78 in coins to the bank and have the teller exchange them to dollar bills for me.

But I’ll still be the same person I was yesterday.

Maybe I should take my own words to heart. There are some things I could change to help make myself a better person. Who knows, maybe there are two million Americans out there waiting for someone like me to make a change that makes a difference.

A changed man can change the world. Especially if he’s been changed by the One who never changes.

I the Lord do not change. Malachi 3:6