But Not Forgotten

As I was driving to the drive-in in Hartford City this past weekend I was turning through radio stations and happened upon the latter part of an old episode from Adventures in Odyssey. Now, while it may no longer be 'age appropriate', I was raised on Adventures in Odyssey and those characters (oddly enough) still have a special spot in my heart. This particular episode dealt with Whit leaving Whit's End and Connie, Eugene, and Tom having to deal with how to keep things running while Whit was away. Connie, resistant to change, refused to allow Jack Allen, an old friend of Whit's, yet new to town, to run the shop. Throughout the episode Jack gives a nice little pep talk to Scrub, a young boy who is about to lose is first tooth. Scrub is in tears because he fears it will hurt and does not understand the necessity of change. Jack, ever so perfectly, explains to him that change is necessary for growth, and when we experience change we will feel something, sometimes loss. Yet that feeling of loss is required in order for us to continue to grow. This in turn applies to Connie and her feelings regarding the change around Whit's End. And then both of these stories in turn apply to my life.

Change is necessary for growth. I know I want to continue to grow- in my faith, in my personal life, in my friendships, in my career. I know that I have not appreciated all aspects of change that have occurred over the past few months since graduation. Yet they have all been necessary steps in life. I may not like being alone, but it allows me time to better understand myself and grow in self-awareness. For as long as I can remember I've had younger siblings or other girls around to take care of, dote on, and direct my attention towards. Now they are all removed and I am forced to consider myself in all the decisions I make. I think I may be working through my indeciveness... at least a little bit.

While I feel the pain of losing all that I once held dear, I do not regret that I have had to continue down the path of life leaving them behind for now. It's time to move on to some new experiences while reflecting on what I've learned from the past. It's a rather odd place to be considering that I'm not far removed from the geographical location of my home for the past four years. Yet life looks entirely different.

So, like on Adventures in Odyssey, I may resent the change at times. Things of the past- friends, teammates, relationships- are gone.

But not forgotten.