For many young people the upcoming days mark the beginning of a big change, transition, and shift in their daily routines. For my little sister this was all too much as she was just one day away from beginning her senior year of HS at Jonesboro. Much of the summer she spent time hoping for an escape from the mundane summer days stuck in the house or living the life of a vehicle(less) teenager. Sure she and her friends would break free of this occasionally and do what it is teenagers do make something out of nothing and go places their meager allowances or pt jobs would allow. But here she was the day before the first day of her senior year and all she could do was mire in frustration and angst of the beginning of the end or rather the beginning of the unknown. My sister carries the dubious trait that seemingly is passed down in our family, the crippling trait and fear of change. I know I experience it every day. At times in my life it was due to my insatiable need to control everything which is in opposition to all the laws of nature. Being the BIG BROTHER that I try to be but fail so often, I tried to comfort her with words of encouragement and as I did this something clicked in my own head. It was as if I preached a sermon to myself, the "self" that lived comfortably dormant for years wallowing in its self-righteousness and false since of security. Here in this twisted state of mind I would get frustrated with people around me who didn't see things the way I saw them, people who transformed into something unrecognizable, things that I did not understand, ultimately situations I could not control. Here I would spend countless hours blaming everybody but myself for my frustrations, here I would fall to the most unsavory for of deception self doubt all because I found myself in the passenger seat of life and had no control of the wheel. This happens in life…as I tried to explain to my beautiful little sister who is not so little anymore, all grown up and on the cusp of adulthood or at least when society tells you life is about to aim its foot straight for your ass so get ready for it. Anyway as I tried to encourage her about the new school year I stumbled upon an example that may just be the key for me to get a grasp on this thing call change. Have you ever wonder why God gave us 4 seasons? No…me either but hear my rational that might make any meteorologist squirm. I think God gives us 4 seasons to learn to deal with change. Imagine 365 days of summer, not quite 500 but the equivalent of one year of mid to upper 80s sunshine every day, limited rain, clear skies and all the fun and excitement that comes with summer months 365 days of the year. Sounds enjoyable and for high school students sounds like paradise. But think of the consequences of this type of environment, the sun eventually burns out the grass the leaves brown, trees and plants begin to dehydrate and wither away and most importantly your AC bill is through the roof. Doesn't sound so appealing now does it. Or for you winter people who for some reason admire ungodly temperatures meant only for moose or is it mooses… reindeer and a fictional fat white man, a wonderland of frigid white wanna be rain that eventually weighs down limbs causing them to fall on houses, the constant threat of hypothermia, ridiculous North Face vests, Gucci Mane chapped lips and a heating bill through the roof…(guess I can't get away from the bill) All this to say seasons come and go for a reason. For me and as I tried to explain to my sister they may change so we can appreciate the beauty in each of them when they aren't apparent, or maybe to teach us to prepare for them prior to the change. Either way avoiding the change is like walking around life with your hands covering your eyes. You are less inclined to move, which means you are doubtful to realize the opportunities all around you and are more likely remain in what many of us call our comfort zones. Areas where we wallow in are limited perspectives hoping that others are just in arms length to wallow with us. The problem with this is covering your eyes limits you to acknowledging the beautiful complex world around us and causes us to be unprepared for when things change because we never saw it coming not because we weren't warned, but because we chose not to see the beauty in the inevitable. With that I just took one hand away from my eyelids and starting looking around…maybe you should to It's a beautiful world waiting for you to explore but you gotta keep your eyes open to experience it…
