As we have discovered from our 'Nomadic Existence", we will move again - and again.
Change Happens -- They keep moving the cheese!
By now, it seems like a Jehovah joke, a Providential prank, a Celestial chuckle, but it is my reality. I believe I have acquired an allergy to cardboard and I have nightmares of numbered cartons filled with my "stuff" floating over a precipice into the unknown. I have pared down enough households to have qualified for a healthy retirement fund, had I not had to buy another household in another location. Most the time as we moved, I was caught surprised. I was still holding onto MY cheese. I guess I forgot Whose cheese it was. And it really wasn't a joke or an unkindness; it was a move, it was a plan designed by One greater than I.
Anticipate Change -- Get ready for the cheese to move!
The problem was I was never ready. Even the times I saw the "handwriting on the wall", I just didn't get it. I thought I could "fix it", overcome it, rescue it, manage it, but when it came down to it, all I could do was accept it and deal with it. We all learned in our college classes that we were to work ourselves out of a job, that we were expendable for God, but I thought we would continue with the same group on the same continent in the same country. Now, 4 continents, 5 countries and 3 States later, I realize I am expendable. My life is not my own for I have been bought with a price. God does not need me, He wants me and where really doesn't matter.
Monitor Change -- Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old!
Funny, today when I was cleaning, I found a piece of Pepperjack cheese in the back of the fridge. It was green and slimy and putrid-smelling. How long it had been there, I'll never know. I only lived in my house 6 days a month. It struck me as a vivid visual aid, how, like the mouse, I was clinging to my cheese, even though it was old. I pictured my arms around that piece of cheese I threw away today. How utterly disgusting! Had I seen the cheese of my life for what it was, perhaps I could have adapted better.
Adapt to Change Quickly -- The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy the new cheese!
It did not take me long to part with that moldy cheese in my fridge. I could not get it out of my house fast enough. Clinging to old cheese keeps me looking back to the past rather than to the future. New plans cannot be settled, new adventures cannot begin and new friends cannot be made.
Change -- Move with the cheese!
Some of the greatest miracles we have been blessed to enjoy could never have occurred if we had not come to the place of crisis in our lives. Example: A family with 3 small children ran out of food. They are in Bible school attending full-time classes, working full time, and driving a long distance. Throughout the day they pray, anticipating God will answer. They don't say a word or "drop hints" to anyone. This is a God-thing. And they are waiting for God's answer. At lunch, they serve the several hundred students, many complaining about the food they're served, while the family waits for a possible supper. The cafeteria man throws pans of food in the trash that could have fed the family. The last class ends and it is time to pick up the children and drive to a cheeseless home. As they pull out, a prof runs after the car and stops them. "I shot a deer and I have more venison than will fit in my freezer. Can you use some?" God has answered. I feel sorry for the hundreds of Christians who have never been in a place of such need that only God can rescue. It takes discomfort to be in that place. There can be fear in that place. But without coming to that place, you can never see the miracle occur! Thank God for the prof who also had a heart ready to hear God and help meet that need.
Enjoy Change -- savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese!
Some of the world's most wonderful cheeses, we enjoyed in France during our year there. Caprice des Dieux (Cream of the god's) was our favorite. (You can find it in the cheese department at Wegman's for about $10 for 12 oz.) Brie, Edam Holladaise Tendre, Muenster were a delight from the basic American and Cheddar we were accustomed to. I remember the French trying to encourage me to eat the white part of the Brie. I was convinced it was mold and would take the cheese out of the middle. Woe be to the person who actually cuts off the point from a wedge of brie. Taking the cheese from the middle was a lesser, though still a serious crime in French ettiquette. After several weeks of eating the white part, I returned to my friend and told her how successful I had been.
"I am eating the white part of the brie, but I am having some difficulty with the orange part of the Muenster." I stated.
"Oh no!" she responded, alarmed. "The orange part is plastic!"
Be sure the cheese you are enjoying is actually cheese!
Be Ready to Change Quickly and Enjoy it Again and Again -- They keep moving the cheese!
Often the changes were so abrupt, I often did not know which State to be content in. That I must be ready to change quickly and enjoy it is true as I am currently on my 50th move. This time I know it will be temporary. My cheese will move again.
Move With the Cheese and Enjoy it!
My short term prospects fill me with anticipation. My children, Grandbabies, writing writing and more writing, time with Tim and even time to sleep for a change, and cooking things my family will enjoy for fun and not because it is my job!
Thank you Spencer Johnson for the insights you have shared in your book, "Who Moved My Cheese?" You have helped me to adjust to my personal changes.
Change Happens -- They keep moving the cheese!
By now, it seems like a Jehovah joke, a Providential prank, a Celestial chuckle, but it is my reality. I believe I have acquired an allergy to cardboard and I have nightmares of numbered cartons filled with my "stuff" floating over a precipice into the unknown. I have pared down enough households to have qualified for a healthy retirement fund, had I not had to buy another household in another location. Most the time as we moved, I was caught surprised. I was still holding onto MY cheese. I guess I forgot Whose cheese it was. And it really wasn't a joke or an unkindness; it was a move, it was a plan designed by One greater than I.
Anticipate Change -- Get ready for the cheese to move!
The problem was I was never ready. Even the times I saw the "handwriting on the wall", I just didn't get it. I thought I could "fix it", overcome it, rescue it, manage it, but when it came down to it, all I could do was accept it and deal with it. We all learned in our college classes that we were to work ourselves out of a job, that we were expendable for God, but I thought we would continue with the same group on the same continent in the same country. Now, 4 continents, 5 countries and 3 States later, I realize I am expendable. My life is not my own for I have been bought with a price. God does not need me, He wants me and where really doesn't matter.
Monitor Change -- Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old!
Funny, today when I was cleaning, I found a piece of Pepperjack cheese in the back of the fridge. It was green and slimy and putrid-smelling. How long it had been there, I'll never know. I only lived in my house 6 days a month. It struck me as a vivid visual aid, how, like the mouse, I was clinging to my cheese, even though it was old. I pictured my arms around that piece of cheese I threw away today. How utterly disgusting! Had I seen the cheese of my life for what it was, perhaps I could have adapted better.
Adapt to Change Quickly -- The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy the new cheese!
It did not take me long to part with that moldy cheese in my fridge. I could not get it out of my house fast enough. Clinging to old cheese keeps me looking back to the past rather than to the future. New plans cannot be settled, new adventures cannot begin and new friends cannot be made.
Change -- Move with the cheese!
Some of the greatest miracles we have been blessed to enjoy could never have occurred if we had not come to the place of crisis in our lives. Example: A family with 3 small children ran out of food. They are in Bible school attending full-time classes, working full time, and driving a long distance. Throughout the day they pray, anticipating God will answer. They don't say a word or "drop hints" to anyone. This is a God-thing. And they are waiting for God's answer. At lunch, they serve the several hundred students, many complaining about the food they're served, while the family waits for a possible supper. The cafeteria man throws pans of food in the trash that could have fed the family. The last class ends and it is time to pick up the children and drive to a cheeseless home. As they pull out, a prof runs after the car and stops them. "I shot a deer and I have more venison than will fit in my freezer. Can you use some?" God has answered. I feel sorry for the hundreds of Christians who have never been in a place of such need that only God can rescue. It takes discomfort to be in that place. There can be fear in that place. But without coming to that place, you can never see the miracle occur! Thank God for the prof who also had a heart ready to hear God and help meet that need.
Enjoy Change -- savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese!
Some of the world's most wonderful cheeses, we enjoyed in France during our year there. Caprice des Dieux (Cream of the god's) was our favorite. (You can find it in the cheese department at Wegman's for about $10 for 12 oz.) Brie, Edam Holladaise Tendre, Muenster were a delight from the basic American and Cheddar we were accustomed to. I remember the French trying to encourage me to eat the white part of the Brie. I was convinced it was mold and would take the cheese out of the middle. Woe be to the person who actually cuts off the point from a wedge of brie. Taking the cheese from the middle was a lesser, though still a serious crime in French ettiquette. After several weeks of eating the white part, I returned to my friend and told her how successful I had been.
"I am eating the white part of the brie, but I am having some difficulty with the orange part of the Muenster." I stated.
"Oh no!" she responded, alarmed. "The orange part is plastic!"
Be sure the cheese you are enjoying is actually cheese!
Be Ready to Change Quickly and Enjoy it Again and Again -- They keep moving the cheese!
Often the changes were so abrupt, I often did not know which State to be content in. That I must be ready to change quickly and enjoy it is true as I am currently on my 50th move. This time I know it will be temporary. My cheese will move again.
Move With the Cheese and Enjoy it!
My short term prospects fill me with anticipation. My children, Grandbabies, writing writing and more writing, time with Tim and even time to sleep for a change, and cooking things my family will enjoy for fun and not because it is my job!
Thank you Spencer Johnson for the insights you have shared in your book, "Who Moved My Cheese?" You have helped me to adjust to my personal changes.
Love it!
Just think, now you'll have more time to monitor the cheese so it doesn't go bad.