A few days after returning home from their honeymoon, a young couple was preparing dinner. Suddenly the phone rang, and the wife went to answer it. After she hung up, she started sobbing uncontrollably. The husband asked, “What’s wrong, Honey?”

She replied, choking back the tears, “Well, I took the casserole out of the oven, and the phone rang. Before I could get back, the cat ate it!”

Her husband was very understanding and gently stated, “That’s okay, Honey, we can get another cat.”

This humorous story illustrates how quickly we overreact when the calm monotony of our lives suddenly changes for the worst. Perhaps you’ve had a flat tire on a cold, winter night. Or you’ve received a desperate emergency call from a friend or relative. Maybe even more commonly, your dinner has burned in the oven, ruining your meal (and with that, your appetite!). Often, when it seems things are at their best, God allows us to be thrown for a tailspin. He does this to test our character and to conform us into the flexible servants He would have us to be.

We’re born to resist change, but the work of the Holy Spirit within us makes it possible for us to be flexible. Only when flexible—sensitive to the opportunities that come with change and accepting it— are we best equipped to be witnesses for Christ.