Five Minute Friday: Change

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1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community...

Five minutes on change...

GO 


Change.
It's a scary thing for most people. I know I enjoy routines and familiarity most of the time. But the new school year brings changes that have to be gone through.

But that saying "The more things change, the more they stay the same"? I'm finding it to be very true.

Frances has been dealing with some bullying stuff in the afternoons. She's with new kids who aren't used to the fact that her best friend is a boy and who find this fact to be worthy of teasing and unkind words.  That isn't much of a change. She's always dealt with that. This time around, I think it hit her a bit more hard because the kids last year had finally gotten over it and mostly left her alone.  With a new group of kids, comes new teasing.

Do you know what we've discovered that stays the same?  God's love and protection over us.  And the fact that he works in mysterious ways.  Really mysterious.  Downright comical in this case. Let me see if I can explain.

Yesterday I looked for the patron saint of being bullied.  I managed to find a St. Mungo whose domain is just that. Yippee!  I was planning on learning some about him and presenting Frances with his name and some information, so that she could have a new friend in her spiritual army.

In reading about him, I also discovered that he is the patron saint of salmon.  (That's the comical part, if you're paying attention).  I haven't done my research in to why salmon need a patron saint, but this discovery put an immediate smile on my face. You see, my mom's family is from Alaska and she spent her summers on a fishing boat, fishing for salmon. So salmon always remind me of my grandparents. Specifically, in this case, my grandmother. Her name? Frances. 

The whole story made me grin from ear to ear.  It also made my Frances burst out laughing. Now she's got a new friend to pray with and a great big fishy smile on her face.

God works in mysterious ways. And He's always had a sense of humor with me. I'm glad that with all the changes going on, that part has stayed the same.