The image I’m showing today has nothing to do with the topic of this post. I just had to chuckle and share it with you, because I sometimes need reminders of the important things in life. Laughter is always beneficial to our well being, unless we’re the ones being laughed at. I have always believed that making a joke about something or laughing at my own stupid mistakes helps me to get over myself. I guess you could call that humbling oneself, but more often it causes more attention to be drawn to myself.

Most of us today have become hermits. Some because of fear – some by necessity – some because of a permanent phobia called COVID19. Lately, this dreadful disease is in the news again. Sometimes change is necessary for our well being, but I think it’s basically good for helping us move on and beyond. Our world is in a constant change of flux – and I’m not talking about acid reflux – although that can be a real problem too. We tend to resist change. Most of us like order. We like the structure of worshiping a certain way. We feel cheated if we don’t see familiarity in the things we do. We are creatures of habit and even though God has changed our hearts – He never changes. We can trust his consistency to lead us through any of the changes that come our way.

We should be used to those alterations by the time we reach our senior years, but often we are so deeply seated in tradition, we refuse to change. We might even ignore the good that will come from change. We defend our right to continue as usual. We get angry and even fight change, because it doesn’t blend with our way of thinking. Sometimes, we simply avoid the situation that’s undergoing change and refuse to be part of it. We might make excuses for not changing or worse yet avoid the situation altogether.

It seems that the older I get, the stronger my stubborn attitudes get. I think I know better. I refuse to try something new, because the old way of doing things always worked for me in the past. I’m even fearful that change is going to effect the way I think about my God, my worship, my pride. There’s that word – “pride.” One of those words that used to have a different meaning, but has now transcended all of my former thinking. Pride used to mean the feeling we get when we can accomplish something that might’ve been inconceivable before.

So, can you teach an old dog new tricks? I think you can. I’m an old dog and I don’t feel I will ever stop learning. We should never become so set in our ways, that we refuse to change. Who knows, it may even be for the better?