Change for the Better

by Riah Gonzales –

In order for things to change, you have to change. In order for things to be better, you have to be better.

I don’t really know who wrote it, but after reading this reflection I will be forever grateful to whoever came up with that thought. In order for things to change, I have to change… ouch! Possible? With God, yes, but on our own, we can’t. There are a lot of circumstances in our lives which make us or break us. It depends on us how we deal with them.

I remember reflecting on what life is all about. My friend told me that life is what we make of it. It’s the decisions, the choices, the blessings, the trials, the everything! Life is not what our parents want for us, nor is what our peers dictate upon us. Life is what we are and what we do with it.

The only permanent thing in this world is change. We have to make the best of that change. As we decide to do so, we not only make ourselves better individuals, but we l turn out to be good influences on others as well. Hopefully those we influence will want to change, so the chain goes on.

Jesus wanted to change how the Pharisees were dictating life to his people. It led to His death on the Cross, but His death ultimately changed man. It brought salvation. We are told to follow Jesus’ example do the same. It is our choice to do so. That change is to be better.

Riah Gonzales has grown to love God through her service as a single woman in her 30s. She turned her hobby of baking and cake decorating into a business with her parent’s blessing and support. At her bakeshop, the main objective is to proclaim God’s victory in her life as His daughter. Riah lives in Manila in the Philippines, where she is very active in her church community.