Change is an inevitable phenomenon of life. Things just never remain the same. They always change. Sometimes for the better. Other times for the worse. But one thing you can always count on for certain is that change will happen. It seems these days that change is in the air more than usual. Here in Costa Rica things have changed quite a bit since I first arrived in October of 2001. Things certainly have changed for me, personally, in a dramatic way since then. I can’t say all for the better, but I certainly have learned a lot. When I first came here the country was in the process of electing a president, Abel Pacheco. He did not prove to be that “able” or capable, however. The country basically endured four years without a whole lot of progress. The tourism industry and the attraction of Costa Rica as a location for foreign investment, nevertheless grew in those years, despite a deteriorating infrastructure. During the ensuing four years under the watch of Oscar Arias, Costa Rica has undergone significant transformation in the way of improvements to its infrastructure. Even so, crime has increased alarmingly. The country is currently, like the rest of the world, in economic turmoil, but somehow improvements continue to take place. Viewed from a contemporaneous perspective it seems that all this change just happens randomly. Each day brings about new events that shape the future. These days, it seems you can’t really count on or predict with any reasonable degree of accuracy what the next day will bring. But when you step back for a moment and take a “bird’s eye view” there does seem to be pattern or some degree of thoughtfulness to all the change that envelops our lives day to day. It is as if some hand is guiding these events towards a predetermined end. Wouldn’t it be nice to possess a “crystal ball” that enabled us to see exactly how the future will unfold. Some claim to have these prescient powers, but I am skeptical. I know I don’t. I haven’t the foggiest idea of what will happen from one day to the next, but viewed retrospectively, things always seem somehow to work out. I am a Christian and believe in the idea of “reaping and sowing.” That is you reap what you sow….sow good works and you will reap a bountiful harvest. Sow bad stuff and, well, you get what’s coming to you. In eastern religions, they refer to this concept as “karma.” More recently we have heard a lot about a “law of attraction” that espouses that we can actually attract into our lives what we focus on the most intently. All these metaphysical concepts seem to have a common vain and that is that there is an invisible hand guiding the course of events. And that hand has a conscience…..a will. It seems that God wants us to participate with him in shaping the future. How? By our actions today. That is, if we observe the “golden rule” today, it seems that God has better things in store for us tomorrow. I know from my own personal experience that if I am wallowing in self-indulgence or self-pity, or any of the other myriad of ways I can be completely self-focused, the future doesn’t usually work out that well for me. Much of the pain that I have experienced in my lifetime I can easily see as being the direct result of selfishness. However, if I turn outward and forget about me for even a moment, it seems that somehow, almost miraculously, things begin to change for the better. I have developed a habit of always giving to the beggars that approach you here in Costa Rica at almost all busy traffic intersections. Others always chide me and tell me “don’t you know what they will do with that money?” My reply is no, I don’t. Perhaps they will buy drugs, but perhaps they are hungry and will buy something to eat. It is not for me to judge. Because the truth is “there but for the grace of God go I.” If I have some spare change, I will always gladly give because in that small act of giving change really does take place, in my heart, potentially in theirs and in the way God allows the future to unfold.
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