The new year is often a time to reflect on the previous year and its struggles and joys. One of my favorite memories in 2017 was when work sent me to a conference in New York City! I earned a much-desired certification that got me some letters behind my name (yay!), I was in NYC in the fall, and best of all I got to create some great memories with my bestie who lives there! This work trip doubled as a mini-vacay that also included my first trip upstate during the peak of autumn, my absolute favorite season of all! (Trip details coming soon.)
While freaking out about the endless shades of leaves overwhelming my every glance, I started thinking more and more about my love for this glorious season of transition. (Side note: Big thanks to my friends for pulling the car over at more than one place to take pictures and appease an awe-struck girl!) Living in Texas, we can experience some pretty brutal summers, but the transition to fall brings some much-needed relief. I’ll just say it- while the transitions in nature can be lovely, the transitions in life can be hard and scary. We say we want adventure, but are often scared of the change that it accompanies.
I have had many notable transitions in the past few years that shook the world I had come to know. The transition from being a consultant to the chaos that is flight attendant life…the adjustment of living in five homes in three different cities in less than four years…the transition to being unemployed…and then moving to the suburbs…then to an 8-to-5 desk job…you get the idea. This saying comes to mind and seems apropos, “If you want to make God laugh, share with Him your plans!”
My fondest moments in life have come from things that I never even dreamed of. Being single and almost 30 (gasp!) was never the plan…but I also never dreamed I’d go to 11 countries before that ripe ole age of 30 either. The issue wasn’t just that my life wasn’t going according to “plan”, but that I needed to learn to be better at accepting the good with the bad. Most of the time we don’t look forward to these unknown and scary transition periods, but they almost always bring about good things if you have patience and choose to look for the positive! So, it hit me one day- while I fight and dread the undesirable parts of the transitions in my life, the season of autumn that I long for to bring comfort and relief is, itself, a period of transition. I need to take a note from nature and learn to let the beautiful new colors that are developing shine through. Without those transitions in my life I would have missed out on some unbelievable adventures with people and with God. Not to mention all the personal and spiritual growth that followed! I learned (and am still learning) a valuable lesson from it all- change your attitude and you can change your life!
Sincerely,
Jen Marie
Leave a Reply