Turn-arounds

I'm sure we've all heard of people saying that they changed.  It may have been to a skeptical loved on or to a boss about to fire them or to a parent who only remembers the child they used to be. Many people say they’ve change, but there are a few story of extraordinary change that have struck me recently. The first life turn around I thought of was that of James McBride. In his book The Color of Water, he details the life of his mother (a remarkable life of change in itself) and his own life. He grew up with a white mother and a black step father. The majority of his side of the book shows his struggle to find his identity. He tries hard summer jobs, petty theft, organized robbery, and many other unproductive ventures. Life was tough and he carried anger for years.  He eventually makes peace with being himself, partially through discovering his mother’s history.  He is now a successful writer.

The second turn-around I thought of was that of St. Augustine of Hippo. Born in late 300 AD, Augustine’s time period differed greatly from our current time, but his story is surprisingly modern.  He was born in a “southern Baptist” style town where the Bible and the Church were the center of the community. He was a rebellious lad, delighting in stealing pears and getting the better of his teachers. As he grew older, he grew to trust his own intellect, scoring the church. He ran away from home and studied abroad. Shockingly, he entered into a relationship with a woman he was not married to, living with her and having a child.  He sat in on a famous speakers church services, thinking he would learn speaking and be immune to Christianity. God won his heart however and he was eventually baptized.  But once baptized, he resisted changing his lifestyle of sin, even praying that God would change his heart, but not quite yet. He finally realized that he couldn’t do it alone and turned to the One who could change him from the inside. “Without you, what am I to myself by a guide to my own downfall?” he stated. Through further study and discourse with friends, he is lead to a true conversion experience, eventually becoming a bishop. 

Change is part of life, but true changes of the heart are rare and amazing.