Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
Some were sentimental. My favorite one was the fifth grade which had each of their students make a poster using only three words to describe their year. They took a picture of each student holding their poster and put all of the pictures together in a slide show. I don’t know these kids but I laughed and cried like I did. The pictures and the messages were priceless. Their posters said things like “Ready to shine” and “Good memories forever”. A few were really funny like the one that said “Did some work” and “I’m outta here”. The most memorable one for me was the immigrant child with the poster that said “Finally I’m Free”.
Maybe it was my tumultuos childhood, maybe it’s just the way I’m wired but change has always been a little bit scary. So scary, that I stayed in an unhappy marriage for way too long. There is comfort in our daily routines and knowing what to expect. I like feeling in control. In fact I’ve been accused of being a control freak. Not sure I’d go that far (ok, maybe I am) but I like my little stable world.
A series of health problems, family tragedies and personal hardships put me in a tailspin. As I struggled to make sense of my life that seemed to be spinning out of control I latched on to this familiar saying. In fact I printed this and put it strategically around my house and at work. While I give a lot of credit for helping me deal with painful life experiences to a wonderful counselor, I also have to give credit to this simple powerful little prayer. If you are familiar with the origins of this verse you’ll know that these words change lives. Over time my attitude began to change. I found myself saying "it is what it is" more often. My whole life I'd been a worrier until the day I realized worrying was like rocking in a rocking chair. It'll pass the time but it won't get you anywhere. I conciously decided to stop worrying about things I couldn’t control and to take control of things that I could…like my attitude, my health, and my finances. I had to learn to accept things as they were. I had to accept that when someone else says "you're not the boss of me" they are absolutely right. I am only the boss of me. My thoughts, my feelings, my actions and responses are the only ones I control. What a difficult thing this has been for this old hard head to learn.
I had been at the same school for seven years. That’s a long time. I had friends there. I was comfortable there. That’s when I had to ask myself if I was truly living by the words that had become my motto.
Sometimes not knowing what might happen next in your life is exciting. I tell my son all the time “If nothing changes, then nothing changes.” I’m usually telling him this as I lecture him about getting a better job and informing him that he can’t live in my basement forever but hey, it applies. As someone once said…We can’t sail on to new challenges if we’re afraid to lose sight of the shore.
order to move forward.” -C.S. Lewis