Reading the 3rd chapter of How People Change, by Lane and Tripp, he describes life as filled with questions, and the questions always start with “how” and “why” because we are curious. We want to understand life, and we want to interpret every situation or experience that we’ve been through.
The writers said that we are meaning makers. They cited a situation where someone interpreted her situation in life. Such a case study reminds me to trust God. As I reflect, I could relate to Nikki's domestic and body image struggles that caused her to lose motivation in living.
Personally, I find life very challenging right now. I am at the point where I am no longer motivated to do things that excite me as I was before. In this case, I could relate to Nikki's experience.
Moreover, the writers mentioned that the human dream is focused on self: to improve oneself, to be successful in life, to earn a lot of money, and to find self-fulfillment. We want to improve our circumstances in life, or we want to see physical or material improvement. However, as I read the book, it reminds me that God's work is focused on the human heart. God is working to change us inside out, rather than changing our physical appearance or the external things in our lives.
The writers also mentioned that we are too preoccupied with our brokenness, pain, and struggles. We want to escape them. Just like me before, I only see the problems and want to be liberated from them. However, as I learned, these problems might serve as a blessing in disguise. Through them, our lives will be transformed, and we might experience a restoration that is beautiful beyond our expectations. As humans, we only want the beautiful destination, and we want to escape the painful process.
I learned from the 3rd chapter that God is not done with me yet. He allows me to experience pain and struggles so that I will learn to put my hope and trust in Him. If there is trust and hope, we will no longer see the problem as an obstacle but a blessing; our struggles have meaning and purpose. As Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us to trust in His plans, and that’s my life verse, by the way. We need to stop fixing ourselves. Let God do it for you.
When we stop trying to fix our own circumstances and start submitting to God's transformation of our character, we find a hope that remains steady regardless of our situation. We are not just victims of our circumstances; we are "fixer-uppers" in the hands of a God who never leaves a project unfinished.