Change is Coming!

"Embrace Uncertainty.  Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won't have titles until much later."  - Bob Goff

"The Secret of Change is to focus all of your energy, not of fighting the old, but on building the new."

Today was Abby's last day at her current school.  We (as a family) have decided that we are going to have the kids change schools and because Abby would like to cheer then she must leave during this school year in order to try out for the squad at the new school.  She has been such a trooper about the decision and she has had very mixed emotions about the change.  At 14, life seems to swirl around friends, school, church, and social activities.  I know that this would be tough but I also know that she is made up of the very best of her mom and me and I believe that she will have the resilience of a weed while maintaining the grace and beauty of a rose.

Today I had to be at my Valdosta office for work and left before the kids were up.  As I was driving I remembered that I didn't get a chance to talk to her about today.  I needed to tell her some things.  She is her Daddy's Child and I know that she will handle all that will come today but she is mine and I will always worry about her.  Then I realized that today was a teaching moment that I couldn't let pass. 

Today is so much more than changing schools.  Today is about learning that the only constant in Life is Change.  I want her to learn to embrace Change.  Don't be scared of leaving the familiar in order to go into something different and possibly . . . much better.  I remember being nervous and scared when I made the decision to step out in Faith and move my little Family to Augusta, Ga in order to go back to school at the age of 40.  I can remember worrying about finding Angie a job and how would my kids respond to a new school and making new friends.  I remember wondering if I was smart enough or capable enough to handle Dental School.  I also remember thinking "If not now . . . when?"  I realized that I couldn't let fear of the unknown hold me back from making a better future for my family.  As I look back, I see that God had me in the palm of His Hand and I just needed to be brave enough to show up.  

I need her to learn that when it is time to make a change . . . Embrace it!  Your change is part of a greater plan that you won't probably appreciate until much later.  Where you have been and what you have experienced has molded you and made you ready for your next step even though you probably don't even realize it. She needs to know that the Friends that she makes throughout Life never really leave even if they may change addresses. True Friends will sprinkle your Life at every turn and the ones that you need right at that moment will be the ones that you have.  I need her to know that she is a Child of God and He will guide her and keep her but she does have to be brave enough to show up!