For the last few weeks, one phrase has echoed in my mind like a broken record begun only to haunt my thoughts. The phrase in itself is not really the problem, it’s the context it’s used in.

It’s a phrase I’ve heard from every person who has voiced their concerns about the small changes in the church service as we transition to a more modern, more effective style of worship. Only a handful of people have come to me to express their discomfort with the changes to the church service, but each and every one of them have said to me “You don’t understand, I was married in this church.”

I’m guessing the reasoning for choosing this phrase is to explain how long they’ve been there. I love that the church has a history, after all my husband was raised in this church, but it got me thinking about my own upbringing and the changes that have occurred to the settings of my own milestones.

I was born in a small country hospital staffed with a multitude of the sweetest Catholic nuns you could ever meet. It was about 45 minutes away from my hometown, but still the closest option for childbirth (other than your house of course). During my late teenage years, the hospital was consolidated with another hospital in the area and all labors and deliveries were moved to the partner hospital. Although I thought it was sad to not have the care of nuns anymore in the nursery, I was thrilled to learn about the improvements of services and upgrades to equipment made available by consolidating and moving all services to one location.

When I started high school, I was thrilled to get to the same building my mother and brother had told me so much about. But the stay was short-lived. During my sophomore year, the former mansion was sold and we moved to a new, state-of-the art facility outside of town. I was sad to leave the old high school, but the opportunities available to us at the new school were priceless.

I came up with dozens of examples in my own life when things have evolved to keep up with the needs of the surrounding area, but none of the memories or even experiences I still have today at those locations were affected in the slightest by any of the elements that have changed.

I guess I’ve never looked at changes for the purpose of improvement as a bad thing. I grew up knowing that change was an inevitable part of life. Without change, we would still be living in caves and rubbing sticks together to make fire. Before I continue, I know there are some of you reading this thinking this example is a little extreme. I know most of you have never lived in a cave, and it’s not fair to go that far back in time. You don’t care about anyone else changing, you just would rather not change yourself. This is actually a real conversation I’ve had before. The thing is that you change every day. You get a little older, hopefully a little smarter, and you develop a deeper character. Our outsides give in to time and what’s inside is shaped by every experience we have.

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