Let it go...summer is gone...

Once again, I'm having issues letting go...this time...of summer...

I can't believe another summer has closed its door right in front of my face.  Leaving behind the season of ease and slow-pace it's never easy to me.  Ushering in fall it's always a challenge...sigh...

But, I must accept. 

I know...I've been in denial.  That's why it has taken me this long to realize that summer has ended.  School started.  Homecoming dances have come and gone.  Fall decorations are on my door.  But the part about accepting the reality of summer being gone has just sank in.  What prompted it?  Having to unearth a sweatshirt and a pair of socks.

Up until now, I've been living the flip flop lifestyle.  Yesterday morning, however, as I was getting ready to go to church, it hit me:  the sock drawer was wide open in front of me.  Astonished, I looked at my bare feet.  They were NOT ready to go in hiding.  Then, to make matters worse, when we came back home, I stood paralyzed in front of the high shelf where I have all my sweaters and sweatshirts, fearing the truth that I was going to have to reach out to grab one 'cause the house was a freezer...sigh...

Life does that to us sometimes.  We are just going along, enjoying our ride...when BAM!!! Slap on the face, reality hits!  The way seasons change is a good reminder of this truth:  change happens.  Don't get too comfortable, because in an instant, it goes all away...life is a series of cycles.

The complication is, however, that for some of us, the very idea of change causes a physical reaction, kind of like a panic attack.  I speak for myself here, I do not deal well with change.  I fear change.  It causes me great discomfort.  The root of my fear of change is found buried deeply inside my psyche.  It has to do with fear of losing control.

The main reason I dislike change so much is that a great measure of the unknown also arrives on the bus of change.  And there aren't many other concepts more unruly and out of control than the unknown. 

My issues are so pervasive inside my mind that, since I know change is going to happen regardless, I try to orchestrate it ahead of its natural progression.  Do you know what I mean?  I want to have control over what happens in my life so badly, that often I try to manipulate things so change happens on my own terms.  Like a house, for example:  I lost the ability to go back to my parents' house, the house that was the symbol of stability in my life since I was born.  And, losing that house has created great heartache.  I never thought I would not be able to be in that house ever again.  I don't want to have to go through that again.  So, what do I do?  I want to constantly be on the move.  I don't want to get attached to anything.  I know someday, I will lose whatever house I'm in at the moment, so I might as well just beat fate and move before fate moves me.

Complex?  You bet!

The seasons, however, are a great analogy that God created for us to remember that, whereas change is inevitable, He is the constant behind all changes...and like the seasons, it's a cycle...a necessary cycle that allows us to grow closer to Him...to find Him...to depend on Him...to surrender to Him.

I am having problems letting go of summer.  However, what I must remember is that this is not the first time it happens.  "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." (Eclesiastes 3: 1)  And now it's the season to let go of the season past and embrace the one coming on.  It is the time to discover the blessings of the new season and reminisce on the one we are leaving behind.  It is the season to renew my trust in the One Who Holds the seasons in His hands and entrust all change to the One Who Never Changes.  And, o yes, it's the season to enjoy all things pumpkin spice!

So for now, so long summer.  It was great having you around.  See you soon!