Years ago, while traveling north of London, I had an opportunity to try to find my way through a famous maze that was designed and built in the eighteenth century. It was made of hedges about ten feet high with paths four feet wide, and it covered about two acres of land. The entrance was clearly marked, and the challenge was simply to emerge at the exit on the far side. When I looked into the entrance, I could see a hedge wall and the immediate necessity of choosing to turn left or right. Some people would look in that entrance and refuse to enter. Others would move forward, carefully trying to remember how to back out. And then there were those who believed it to be easy; they would walk right in.

   Would you believe it took me more than an hour to navigate through the maze and find my way out? Once I had made a few turns and encountered dead ends of 10-foot high hedges, I was completely confused and certainly lost. And all I was doing was walking around a two-acre piece of land! But it certainly was confusing. I started out being really cool about the whole thing, and then uneasiness set in as I moved through a few corridors. Had I made this turn before? Was this a familiar place or was this somewhere new? Could I back out? Where was the trail of breadcrumbs that I should have left along the way? I began to walk more quickly. The dead ends were so short that I couldn’t really run, but I wanted to. Could I climb the hedge and see over the top? No, it was just too high. Was I closer to the perimeter of the maze or was I getting in deeper? Was it going to get dark before I found the exit? Would I ever find my way out? If only I had a diagram of the maze, then I could have followed it like a map. But I had no map and no navigational clues. I felt trapped. Finding our way through changes is often like trying to successfully find our way through a maze. The outcome of change in our lives is often unknown at the time the change hits us. Naturally, we’re apprehensive. We have questions such as: Where is this change going to lead me? How does this change impact my plans? What is this change

going to do to my future? Where do I turn next to avoid getting hurt by this change? Can I go back to where I was before this change ever came along?

   If only we had a map and Global Positioning System (GPS). Or better yet, someone looking down on the maze, aware of where we are, and willing to guide us on a successful trip through the change maze. Even if that maze is terribly difficult and complex and full of uncertainty and dead-ends with high walls, just knowing that someone is watching, caring, and guiding would go a long way toward taking the panic, frustration, and fear out of the change. The intent of this book is to change the way you think about change. It should lead you to developing your own approaches and tools to help you find your way through the many change mazes you encounter along the journey of your life. But most of all, it is intended to help you gain confidence and faith in a loving God who is able to use change mazes to increase your reliance on and faith in Him no matter how difficult the change may be.