Turn Toward the Wind

Embracing Change in Your Life

By Dale Hanson Bourke
Zondervan, $14.99

ISBN 0-310-41170-X

An interview with Dale Hanson Bourke

Embracing the Constant Winds of Change

Change is the only constant, so they say. Then why does it so often catch us blindsided? Why are we amazed, surprised, perplexed, or depressed when changes come our way? Learning to respond to change is often the ultimate test of our faith and our strength of character.

In Turn toward the Wind, the syndicated columnist Dale Hanson Bourke describes her own discovery about how to respond to change. The lessons came at a high personal price. After reading this invigorating personal account, A CLOSER LOOK talked with Dale.

ACL: Describe the circumstances that made you think about the issue of change?

DHB: My life was going along very well. Then three sharp personal losses happened in a relatively short time. My husband and I had a healthy son and wanted another child, but I was a bit unhinged when I learned that I was pregnant with twins. Expecting two children at once took some adjustment. Then, at seven months into the pregnancy, we discovered that one of the twins, our baby daughter, was dead.

Soon after, a very good friend of mine died. Then my father developed a brain tumor and died at age 65.

These tragedies took away my feeling that God and I had a bargain, that all I had to do was obey the rules and work hard. Bad things still happen.

ACL: But how did you make the leap from learning that "good people" are not immune to changes for the worse to learning that you have to turn toward the winds of change?

DHB: It wasn't exactly a 'leap'. With all the changes in my life, I spent years wondering what it all meant, studying the Bible, and struggling for answers. I'd have to say that God gave me the answer as events in my personal life coincided to make this truth real to me. My experience in a sailing class triggered the lesson when I learned that in order to sail a boat, you must turn the sail toward the wind to catch its power.

ACL: In one chapter of Turn toward the Wind, you have retold effectively the story of Jesus' healing the man at the Pool of Bethesda--a significant change for the better. Why did you include this account?

DHB: Everyone has to deal with the same two questions before change can occur. Jesus asks each of us the same questions he asked the lame man--Do you know how sick you are? Do you want to get well? All of us live in denial and we want a quick way to move on, but God wants us to accept change and to lean on him in the face of whatever may come our way.

ACL: How can we determine the difference between change from God and change for the worse?

DHB: God is ultimately in control but we make the decisions, and sometimes our decisions bring bad results. But God can redeem any situation for his purposes, and our willingness to accept changes can be a sign of our willingness to be used by him.

ACL: In chapter 7, the "Reversal of Fortune," you talk about stepping back from power. You say power is loved by people in business and in religion. How do Christians discern their own lust for power and combat or abandon it?

DHB: Many conflicts in the world are basically about power, about who controls how much of whatever is at stake. But your identity doesn't dwell in how much you control or how well known you are. Look at Billy Graham for example. He's perhaps the most respected-and powerful person-in the Christian world, but he knows that he is God's servant first. When we get to the point of saying "I'm just a human being; Use me as you will, Lord," then we've learned how to say no to power.

ACL: You write a good bit about the clutter of busyness and the discipline of simplicity. What do you recommend to readers who are striving with these issues?

DHB: I struggle with this every day. All of us have to make choices about how to use our time every day. My sons won't be children forever, and yet I often let other things distract me from them. It's a constant thing--trying to keep our lives uncluttered with activities and things so we can give to the really important people around us.

ACL: That reminds me of some things you wrote about friendship and the role of encouragement and being accountable. How do you relate those to the issue of change in today's world?

DHB: The role of encouragement has been underrated in the church. If we could just learn that once we give to others, it comes back to us in unexpected ways. Our friends and fellow believers can give us what we need and enable us to move toward change.

ACL: Is there any constant in this world of change? Do we always have to be adjusting our sails?