Variety: Fruit salad or cole slaw; Chef's salad or Waldorf salad; green salad or potato salad. Not eating the same cuisine day after day demonstrates that one's palette appreciates variety. But the decision is ultimately fleeting, and once the salad has been consumed, it is soon forgotten.
Or perhaps a teacher decides that her class is too restless for reading out of the history book today—so she leads an impromptu reenactment of the events her class is studying. This ultimately leads to stronger recall of said events and higher scores on upcoming quizzes and tests. A simple, spontaneous shift can have remarkable results. This is not a permanent change. The teacher won't approach each lesson the same exact way. But she will look for opportunities to help the children truly learn the material.
Change: Behavior problems at school lead to you (the parents) being asked to withdraw your son, which necessitates resigning from the position you (the mother) held, in order to home school. The emotional and neurological support needs lead you to a special program, which will target the biological root of some of the behaviors which precipitated this turn of events. The program enables your son to attend a new campus and meet and develop relationship with a teacher who will later go with him back to his original campus, where his second chance will not be wasted. Your (Mom's) love for him and understanding of him will soar in ways it couldn't have, had you not spent that time at home schooling him, waiting out his fits, drawing limits, and laughing and telling stories with him. A bond that will be needed again and again later on is built and strengthened during this unplanned, unforeseen interlude.
To put it another way, variety is the spice of life, a diversion that results in fun or pleasure. Change—though it may encompass variety—is the bigger picture. Change is hard. Change is work. Change implies a long-term shift in the way of things. Change is "to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone."
But can varying one's preferences, choices, ways of doing things lead to change? Yes—if that variance is recognized as a catalyst. Whatever Edison did after his thousand first attempts was the variable that led to a permanent course of action—a way of devising and replicating a workable light bulb...which changed the course of history.
Change can affect many—as it did in the case of our son. Not only were our lives altered by the positive results of him meeting Mrs. Johnson; but so were his fellow students' and subsequent teachers'. Because he had done some hard work, he was now better equipped to re-engage with those he'd been with since preschool, and to truly develop friendships.
Because the Ten Boom family, living in pre-WWII Holland, were willing to allow their home to be structurally changed—modified—so that a secret room was created, many Jews were spared the fate of going to Nazi concentration camps. They even changed the way that they communicated, instituting a secret code within the daily routines of their clock shop that only their Jewish visitors would recognize. These things they did at great personal risk and consequence; but their willingness to not turn a blind eye resulted in the saving of nearly 800 lives.
It seems to me that there is more spontaneity involved in the practice of variety, while change requires a certain level of clarity, planning, and commitment. It's a more mature level. I've always enjoyed and welcomed variety. But change can be scary. It is one of the strongest, most necessary forces in life—but one that we often seem to dread. However, without it, no real growth occurs. Variety is of value, but ask yourself: while variety enhances my life, am I able to then face the challenge of life's inevitable changes with bravery, faith, and enthusiasm? Do I dance around the bigger issues so I can lick the frosting off the spoon and tiptoe through the tulips, so to speak? You may still experience some variety, but without true change you've got spice with no substance. A struggling couple can go to new places, eat new cuisine, meet new people—but until they address the core issues, learn to communicate better; thus, put in the hard work—nothing in their marriage will change or develop into something stronger.
We were never meant to do change alone. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." It may not always seem like it in the moment, but when you look back...well, the proof is in the pudding. All that has transpired and all that it has cost, in hindsight—having followed the Lord—will be remarkably worth it.
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Change matters. It's the brickwork of a strong life—one that cannot easily be blown down by any huff or puff that comes along. It makes a difference that cannot be easily forgotten or denied. Change is a vital constant. And that will never change.
