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By Rev. MISAEL J. ZARAGOZA The Risks and Rewards of Change: The Tale of Two DinosaursOnce long ago in the land of the unknown there were two dinosaurs. They were twin brothers, one was named Traditionalus. He was a big, lumbering dinosaur, fat and sleek, well fed, and used to the very best. He never ventured far from his birthplace and took no chances. He always used the same old watering hole and always ate the same types of small mammals and vegetation. He was content with the same routing day in and day out. His twin brother was named Innovatus. He was also a big, lumbering fat and sleek dinosaur, used to the very best. But he was always curious, he was always daring to take a risk and always accepted the challenge of chance. He ate many strange plants and animals and traveled to many different watering holes. He was not afraid of change and risk taking he was constantly looking around for new ways. Both dinosaurs lived happily and expected to quietly enjoy their peaceful existence until the end of their days.
Everything might have been fine except that the change in environment meant that the very, very largest dinosaurs, the fast and mean the Mega Traditionalus Dinosaurs (with 50% Commercialize and Promotional genes), who were also sick and hungry, began to search far and wide for food and water, and in doing so, came into the home range of the twins brothers. One day, while the "right-sized" Traditionalus was feeding on a small insect, he heard a Mega Traditionalus Dinosaur crashing through the bushes in his direction. He tried to run, but his once mighty legs were too short and he could not run very fast, still being burdened with Traditionalus bureaucracy and mitochondria. He was crushed into the jungle floor and jungle scavengers ate those parts of his remains not eaten by the Mega Traditionalus Dinosaur. His brother, Innovatus, saw this tragedy from a distant ridge and began to reconsider his own plan to "right-size". Sure, he needed to reduce his food intake and there was no doubt that the food supply demanded that he be smaller. But he could see that being a very small dinosaur in the jungle full of very large dinosaurs had some severe disadvantages. But then, he had an idea, a dream, a vision, he remembered seeing a crude flying insect that visited some of the colored vegetation he had seen in a distant valley on one of his journeys. What if he was a flying dinosaur! Yes a flying dinosaur wouldn't have to run fast to escape his enemy as he could soar above the jungle floor. Should he try it? He thought about it for a long while. He knew the process would be dangerous, but he was willing to take the risk. The change would also be extremely painful. He would have to grow wings where none existed. His massive tail and hips would have to go. He would have to learn to walk in an entire new way. His whole nervous system would have to be rewired. It was hard to even think about it. Something could happen in the metamorphosis and he could have complications, perhaps growing a lethally burdensome extra wing or leg. But, looking back to the remains of his brother being eaten, he realized that radical new environments require radical new approaches; the day of the fat, sleek and none productive dinosaur was ending and it was pretty clear that all dinosaurs, big and small, were in trouble. If he didn't change dramatically and fast, he would be dead meat in any case. He found a small cave, jammed himself into it and identified his vision laid out a plan, form a strategy, took action and began the change. It was painful. Every part of his body cried out in agony, trying to convince his mind that he should forget this bold new plan and simply be a small dinosaur, because it didn't hurt as much. But he held firm to his vision, dream and every fiber of his being changed, from the way his bones were shaped (some were even hollow to lighten the flying weight) and his very metabolism was altered at the cellular level. He would now need more food per pound as it would require more energy to fly, something that no dinosaur, however small, could do, but he figured that if he could fly, he wouldn't get stepped on and could survive for a long time. Finally, after many months of agony and protest from every part of his body, the change was over. He stumbled from the cave, thankful that he had been lucky enough to go unmolested in his hiding place. His new body was strange! It walked different, had many new parts, and was hard to balance at first. The first few days were rough. He fell often and bruised himself badly. Many of his body parts cried out in "I told you so", "this will never work"! He no longer looked like a fat, sleek dinosaur. More importantly, he no longer felt like one. He hadn't yet tried flying because he didn't know how to use his wings. How could he know? But he fully understood that in order to have courage there is always a certain level of fear. One day, while he was standing on the edge of a cliff, flexing his leathery powdering, unused wings. A Mega Traditionus Dinosaur burst from the jungle and thundered down on him. It was now or never to live his dream. He jumped and stuck out his wings. He fell towards the jungle below and flapped madly. Just when he tough he was doomed, he trimmed his wings, caught an updraft, and was flying! Yes flying his vision, his dream became a reality, he was the first Flying Reptile! He soared high above the jungle, pausing only to fly over and relieve himself on the sky. And there was a bonus he hadn't even thought of! The air was full of flying insect that no dinosaur could move fast enough to catch. You couldn't see those insects from the ground. And there were tasty flying mammals that came out at night. No land-bound dinosaur could see them. And now he was able to see prey from hundreds of yards away and catch it quickly. He quickly got better in a short time his entire members began to function as unified team. Soon he was sleek and well muscled again, but only weighed 100 pounds and his aerodynamics and speed increased daily. Small, but nobody could catch him and few of his prey had any chance of eluding him. He located an attractive female an Innovatus Mate and showed her how to mutate. They began to raise a family. Life was good. The suffering had been worth it! Every now and then, while hunting or returning to his executive nest high in the mountain cliffs above the salt marshes, he would think about his long dead twin brothers the Traditionalus. He wondered why his brother hadn't also changed into a Flying Dinosaur. He finally figured out that it was probably fear of the unknown and lack of vision and risk taking. He pondered and dream what other changes might be possible. He would never know that hundreds of millions of years in the future, his descendants, the ultimate Flying Reptiles, would soar as EAGLES and HAWKS. But he had done his part. It would be up to others to continue the changes and improvements. One thing he did know though: taking the first bold step into the unknown is the hardest-and the most rewarding. He smiled, did a loop-de-loop, and continued his flight home, carrying fresh prey for the family in the nest. We hope you enjoyed this simple tale that relates to leaders today in our churches. We encourage you to continue to seek better and more efficient ways to serve your congregation and ultimately, to perfect your walk with the Lord.
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