Welcome to Neumannia (A.K.A. the Neumanns)

Our story... good, bad, happy, sad, glorious, humbling, & hopefully a little hilarious... so that someday,
when it's printed (for the sake of reviving our memory & inspiring our grown children) they will have
seen Jesus in our day to day lives... because in the end, that's the secret to Real Life!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Change is Good!?!

I've come to realize that I am a creature of habit & not so much the poster child for Try New Things. I used to think I was "with the times", "up to speed with reality" & definitely NOT "stuck in a rut" (all delusions I apparently told myself). Because when I turned 29, my dear friend & husband threw a surprise party for me. The invite was a rewritten version of The Sound of Music's These are a Few of My Favorite Things (adorable concept & spot on I might add) It got me thinking, could I have done that for any of my friends. I could compile a couple things for different people in my life, but not enough to complete the lyrics. Over time I kept seeing more and more ways I was such a predictable person. I have worn the same perfume since I was 16-Obsession (praise the Lord they still carry it & so much time has gone by it's not so scandalous anymore), the same lipstick since I was 18-MAC Spirit (I even asked the gal at the counter if there was a chance they wouldn't carry it anymore. She sensed my panic & answered me with "Ma'am, it was one of the first colors so I think your safe...we do have others?"), my hair has been parted on the left since forever (I tried it on the right one night & felt soooo just off), Pepsi is the only soda in my life (to the point if a restaurant serves Coke, I'll have water), every place we go to eat I will typically order the same entree/meal (my issue is will I enjoy the new choice as much as I know I will love what I always get?), not to mention favorite colors, flowers, places & things. Which when you think about it, if you always give the same answer, over time people will pick up on it. All this to say, that when change, in a big way came to our home, it wasn't welcomed at first. The kids were little (Olivia had just turned 1), I was still coaching & Dan was laid off from his sales job. The kicker was he really felt the Lord say not to go back into sales. I was like, "Really? Are you sure He said that?" He felt like God had something different for him & us. Our God is faithful to complete what He begins in our lives. If I didn't know that I know that His Word & promises are TRUE and had the prayer support I had (love my ladies), I don't think I could have embraced that year of change. There was amazing peace that carried us through me going back to work, Dan's handyman months, & us surviving the Academy. Now I can only sum up a year, that at the time seemed like an eternity, in two sentences because I'm reflecting on it & my opinion on change. We came out refined in so many ways, I wouldn't have had it any other way. And in that sense, change IS good. When whatever it is, presses you in to our Lord... embrace it...you'll come out of the fire shining! As to My Favorite Things...if it's not broke, don't fix it!?!

1 comment: