Life brings change. There’s no stopping it. Looking back, I see several significant transformations in my life and their contributions to who I am. 

I am definitely not who I was when I began my journey as a global worker. In South Asia I often thought about this quote from The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien:   

“Gandalf: You’ll have a tale or two to tell when you come back 

Bilbo: You can promise that I’ll come back? 

Gandalf: No. And if you do, you will not be the same” 

I’ve heard countless people use this quote. It’s true for any human experiencing life, but especially true I think, for people who live as expats. We never stop encountering change and new. 

We have a choice in transformation: to harden, stagnate, regress, and refuse to accept it. Or to see opportunities to grow coming and embrace them. Even when we’re afraid, we can walk into change with God and support from people who truly know and love us. 

New Testament writers share beautiful transformation stories. One of my favorites is Zacchaeus: 

 “All the people saw this and began to mutter, He has gone to be the guest of a sinner. But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:7-8) 

Even better are stories where people trying to follow God realized they were short sighted, unkind, too exclusive, or just plain wrong. They struggled to grasp—as all humans do—the kingdom of God. But with every new realization of this there was the opportunity to change. Change brought connection and healing, such as genuine reparations to people they hurt when they thought they were doing right. They laid new places at the table for people outside the usual group. The marginalized were cared for. There was increasing love for God and others and learning was a lifelong process. 

Thankfully God still transforms people like me who struggle with similar hangups. What Jesus demonstrated in loving God with His whole heart and his neighbor as himself— that’s the real stuff of life. I desire real transformation in this way. May God help me realize opportunities for good, helpful change and embrace them.