Change

The predominant feeling in my life at the minute.

And also applies to a few people I know. This post has been inspired by some lovely conversations I've had with some old friends over the past two weeks. Even though I'm (only) 22, I've known some of my friends in Belfast for 19 years and this summer break has been an amazing chance to realise that our friendships have developed and changed over that time.

I remember fondly the days where a group of friends would run up and down our childhood street, playing on bikes, arguing over specific details of imaginary games, stopping only for family mealtimes and bedtime. Despite changes in age, school and over the past three years, location, these friends remain. And this summer I've been so blessed by these very people as we've chatted honestly to one another and realised that we still have much in common. Change has even been beneficial, as friendships have been strengthened through moments and events which have been uniting, not separating.

I'm beginning the journey to London tomorrow and it's probably an understatement to say that it's going to be a change. A new city, a different group of people and a culture completely alien to the worlds that I've been part of over the past 21 years. Belfast and Durham are not the largest cities by any stretch of the imagination. It's easy to make friends when they're right outside your doorstep (or corridor!).

I love this dictionary definition:

Change [of the moon]:

Arrive at a fresh stage. Become new.

It's so exciting to arrive somewhere new. I distinctly remember three years ago being very, very excited to begin Durham University. A clean slate, a new beginning. And here I am again. This time it feels bigger (possibly because physically, London is bigger). But happily God's reminded me that he goes before me. And for that reason, I'm ready.

This summer break, which I self-titled "transition", has lived up to its name. It was a necessary period of time which enabled a letting go of the past. However, I wasn't the "spiritual nomad" I expected to be. I re-found my Northern Irish church family; the people who have prayed for me over the years and the friends who have encouraged me in my faith. Now it's goodbye again, and onto the next.

It's quite appropriate that change is happening in my life, because my desire is to create change out of my change. My ten month internship at Christian Aid begins on Tuesday. And I'm so excited for how we, as a group of interns, can create change. Change in the way we see the world, which impacts other individuals to become passionate about the poor, which leads to a real change in the world.

And by change, I'm really using the synonym, transform. Because it's not just a fresh stage, but a development. Tearfund's Transform programme carries the slogan "Changed people change the world". We need to develop ourselves to create change.

My prayer is that London will create the change in me that is necessary to change the world, a little bit. A huge statement to make, but one which I hope will happen.

Here's to the new, the unknown and the fresh stage of my life which is about to begin.

“The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open." C. Joybell C.