Transition Time Again

Transitions can be exciting, they can be scary, they can be frustrating...sometimes all three of these things at the same time.

This is another big transition time for our family, as our second oldest is about to graduate from high school and move in with friends in a rental home. The friends want to start a ministry community, and it is a neat time for them. In the meantime, the siblings and the parents are dealing with the little disappointments (and promised or hoped for time spent before she moves away) in one way or another! ha.

This month of waiting for things to happen, house leases to come through, etc., has been a little disconcerting to our end-of-year school plans, especially those toward graduation. No matter, things will eventually work out...but transition times are almost too tempting in that those taking the biggest steps really need to finish a chapter completely before they begin the new one in earnest, otherwise they may be tripped up and fall before the finish line.

Why can't kids seem to see this??? The future really is too exciting sometimes.

I'm also of the belief that we humans will learn and do what we are really interested in. We will push hard when things are hard *if* we are fairly successful all along the way. But if we take too many breaks and begin the next chapter too soon, we will not finish well, and may need an editor to fix a chapter or two of our lives. hehe. The things that most challenge us sometimes cause us to choose to move on too early, or we shut down almost completely. This happened to me in college. I became ill but kept forging ahead...and I ended up shutting down because the pressure was too great for far too long, and powers-that-be did not keep their end of a couple of educational agreements, which meant the final nail in the coffin for a couple of degree-required classes. I should have majored in my minor instead, but the timing was not right then. (It is now, and that is a whole other post! I will get a degree in liberal arts with an emphasis in Bible and Spanish as soon as I take two more classes! My minor was Spanish, BTW.)

But this transition for our next graduate in line...it's exciting and frustrating. We are still getting used to her leaving the nest soon! It's almost like it would be better to end the "iffyness" right now, just cut off the kite string a couple of weeks early and move on, because that kite wants to fly now!!

I'm happy for her, proud of her in so many areas, and know that she will learn what she puts her heart into all the rest of her life. She loves learning, so I'm thinking her educational years were actually quite successful!

:::sigh:::

I did say that it will all work out...in faith, I believe that! It has always been Hubby's and my mantra that it is not our place to be forcefully controlling of our children's lives. Help them each step of the way by placing before them a wide vatiety of books, some containing deep ideas and a wide river of things to learn, not hindering their interests, but encouraging them. Guide them, yes. Lead them to the Lord, yes. Let the Holy Spirit prompt and guide as we release them bit-by-bit. It's a very nice balance for life.

God knows the bigger picture in each and every one of our children's lives. What a comfort THAT truly is!! It's not really up to me at all, Thank the Lord! Saves a lot of guilt all along the way, don't you think?

Now on to the physical efforts of getting everything ready for all our company for dd's graduation party this next weekend, whilst we wrap up the homeschool year and high school Spanish classes.


Praying for strength and stamina!

Javamom