Budzban: Changes help us disover our God-given purpose

In the autumn, I enjoy decorating with the beautiful fall colors of reds, oranges and browns.

I place pumpkins on my table tops and string leaf garland on my window frames. I enjoy the special season because it is a time of colorful change.

As we observe the changing seasons, we can watch God#146;s principle of constant change at work in our world.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says: #147;There is a time for every purpose and a season for every activity under heaven.#148; Even though the principle of times and seasons exists and was created by God, for some reason we tend to become creatures of habit and resist change with all our might.

Our lives are in a constant state of flux or transition. Change is the catalyst. Sometimes, it#146;s slow or subtle. It#146;s due to different reasons. Sometimes we create it with a wise or unwise decision.

Sometimes it#146;s thrust upon us by a negative circumstance or situation beyond our choosing.

And then there#146;s the changes that take place within us. The heart attitudes that change and develop either for the good or bad. But nevertheless, change is constant #8212; and it#146;s transitioning us into something new. Without change we grow stagnant and stale.

When I became housebound, I started writing devotions, articles, books and my column, #147;Inspirations.#148; I started studying my Bible and learning new principles and promises of God I didn#146;t know. I worked on overcoming negative attitudes of self-pity and moving through my grief.

Functioning in my new attitudes or daily routine wasn#146;t always easy because I was battling troublesome physical symptoms and still didn#146;t have any answers to my problem.

Over time, I began seeing how changes I was going through helped link me to create a new God-given purpose to write and eventually speak, and how all the changes I made linked me to my dream.

Our dreams may or may not include a change in our vocation; we can also have dreams for our relationships, finances, things for our children, a new home or other material possessions or a physical healing.

I#146;ve had all of these and have seen many come true in the right season. For anything we desire, we must keep God#146;s intended purpose in mind.

By staying connected in prayer and learning to take God-given direction, we can discover what to change and link to our full God-given potential and dream.

Ÿ Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She can be contacted by email at Annetteebudzban@aol.com. There#146;s a few seats left at women#146;s conference, Change the Link to Your Dreams at 1 p.m. Oct. 1 in Gurnee. Any woman interested can send me an email and I#146;ll let her know if there#146;s a seat available and email directions.