I watched a friend’s transformation within and without with a sense of wonder and amazement. While I was hopeful, I was not confident. There were many reasons in his life that said he should fail. Habits and old friends were just the start of the list. There were more. Periodically there had been commitments to change and promises of the same. In each case, epic failures sooner or later followed. This time there had been no visible promises and no crisis events in his life to confront him.
As we talked about the past and the present, I hoped my voice was being heard as a friend.
“What has changed in your life over the past six months and a year?”
“There has been so much change, I am not sure where to start.”
While I knew many of the stories, there were significant ones that were new.
“Did you plan on changing? Was there a triggering event or crisis that make the change mandatory.”
“Not that I was aware of then or now. Change just seem to naturally happen.”
“Why?”
It was the question I had been waiting to asked from the start of our conversation. Even though there were more changes than realized, I had not seen or heard of any promises, crisis, or external event that would trigger the effort to be different.
“A year ago I decided that I wanted to be a better man. In the reflections, conversations, and learning that followed, I found myself reaching for something different! For the first time I wanted something I did not have.”
As the story continued, I realized that he had needed to empty the glass within in order to fill it with what he wanted. His soul was always full. There was no emptiness at any point in his journey. As he reached for more there was a natural change where “abuse and evil and trouble declined” (Psalm 107.39)
His story line unfolded with simplicity and authenticity; by filling his cup with dreams his path had led to him living his dreams.
