A WORD for Wednesday-Vicissitude

Romans 12:2    

“Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”  The Msg.

          vicissitude \vih-SIS-ih-tood; -tyood\, noun:

 1.  regular change or succession of one state or thing to another.  

2.  Irregular change; revolution; mutation. 

3.  change in condition or fortune; an instance of mutability in life or nature (especially successive alternation from one condition to another).

4.  an unpredictable change:  the unexpected stuff you have no firm control over. (I really like this one)

I LOVE this word!  um ok.  i have never spoken it out loud in an actual sentence, but i plan to real soon.  "Vicissitude"  it just sounds so impressive.  On the other hand i HATE the word "change."  My darling of 32 years can get a certain look in his eye and i know he's about to rearrange the living room.  At work, just when i get the hang of doing something the "right" way, sure enough they vicissitude it. As much as i balk and resist and try to pretend it won't happen, vicissitude is inevitable and i can't un-vicissitude it.  Sometimes it's not good, but sometimes it is good.  very good.   

When’s the last time you had a life-altering vicissitude?  How about the vicissitude from walking by sight to walking by faith, allowing God to “bring out the best and develop well-formed maturity?”  Or the vicissitude of standing strong in the Lord and the power of His might, rather than working in mediocre human strength?  Read closely the #3 definition above.  Sometimes vicissitudes are wrought by a succession of events in our lives.  The well formed maturity of Romans 12:2 doesn’t happen in overnight.  One vicissitude builds upon another until one day we will stand complete in Him. 

This world is ever vicissituding (now that's probably not even a real word but just roll with it).   The choice is ours.  We allow the culture to hand over vicissitudes  or we allow the Holy Spirit to do it.  And most often it's our response to those #4 vicissitudes -- an unpredictable change:  the unexpected stuff you have no firm control over that He uses to bring about the vicissitudes necessary to make us into the person He wants to use for His glory!!

now... i dare you...go use vicissitude in a sentence!  right now.  go.