Pilgrim's Progress column with Lizzy Brothwood: Change

Our city of Wakefield has seen considerable transformation over the years. Regeneration projects, new housing developments and shifting priorities have reshaped familiar streets and altered the face of the city many of us have long known.

Most recently, we have heard the announcement that The Ridings Shopping Centre will close after 43 years, as part of the “once-in-a-generation” project to reimagine Wakefield’s city centre. For many, that news carries mixed emotions. Places like The Ridings hold memories of meeting friends, first jobs, Christmas shopping trips, everyday routines. When something familiar changes on such a scale, it naturally touches us.

In our own lives, change often leaves us with questions and perhaps reminds us how much we rely on the familiar to steady us. It also has a way of revealing what we truly value. When the ground shifts beneath our feet, it exposes where we have placed our security and what we instinctively reach for.

I wonder, when life feels unsettled where do you turn to?

In the Bible, there is a story of Jesus asleep in a boat while a fierce storm raged around him. The disciples were terrified. When they woke him, he spoke just three words to the wind and waves: “Quiet. Be still.” And the storm gave way to calm.

Stillness is rarely our first response when life feels turbulent. We rush, react and worry. Yet there is power in pausing, in being still long enough to take stock. For Christians, this story is a reminder that while Jesus does not promise a life without storms, he does promise his presence within them.

Perhaps seasons of change invite us not only to adapt, but to reflect and consider what truly matters, what is simply familiar, and what is genuinely valuable.

Lizzy Brothwood, Parish of Sandal Magna: St. Helen’s and St Paul’s