I was struck with a very thought-provoking situation this weekend that has led me to take a break from my Colossians series so I could share it with you.
CHANGE: Is it good or bad?
Does it bring about good or bad?
Should it make you happy or sad?
I experienced both sides of change this weekend as my husband and I attended a reunion hosted by a group of now young adults who were once part of a church youth department we led in the early 90’s in Arlington, TX.
The church we attended also had a Christian school were we taught. It was the greatest and most memorable two years of my teaching career. It was a sad day when I heard the school had closed about 6 years ago, and even a sadder day when I heard that the Dallas Cowboys organization had purchased the church property for a parking lot for their new stadium.
I had heard from friends that the corner of Randall Mill and Collins was VERY DIFFERENT than it was 18 years ago when we left. And, when we arrived Friday afternoon, we were definitely surprised (and momentarily confused) as to where things were. The stadium is beautiful. But it is still so hard to imagine that it is sitting right there on the corner where CICI’s used to be! But, I saw it with my own eyes. There it stood in all its glory. Then, while we ate supper at a favorite place that was still near that intersection, I started trying to picture the thousands upon thousands of people who streamed through that area-my old stomping grounds-just a few short months ago during the Super Bowl. It was quite an overwhelming thought!
Well, we went East on Randall Mill to watch a Rangers game (not our first visit to the Ball Park), so it was the next morning before we went that one small block west of the infamous Randall Mill/Collins intersection where our church and school once stood.
It was nothing but flat concrete with yellow stripes! We pulled in across the street so I could take some pictures. My eyes teared up. Bethel Baptist-the building-was gone! (The Cowboys paid them well, and a beautiful new building now stands in booming south Arlington). But MY building was gone! We turned and parked on Web Street-where Texas Christian Academy once stood. I walked down to approximately where my classroom would have been. I considered stepping across the barrier to get even closer. My friends’ old house-right across the street- is now a covered shuttle stop. I cried.
Everything in that part of Arlington was sooo different-so new. I thought, at least the Dallas Cowboys can’t take away my memories! I was very sad, until….Well, after driving by our old house-less than a mile away, we headed to see our stomping grounds from when worked and taught in Grand Prairie in the late 80s. When we went by our old church and my old school, we saw that nothing had changed! Nothing had changed. Then it hit me. I found that sight to be just as sad!
Were the changes that had taken place in our section of Arlington REALLY that bad after all?
Change~It can be good-it can be bad, but consider the alternative. Take it and run with it! Keep your memories, but allow God to show you His purpose (He always has one!). Then, seize the opportunities that come!
BTW: When I closed this, that illustrious dialog box popped up~"Do you want to save changes?” I just smiled and clicked ‘yes’.
Debbie
