Change

When I was getting ready to graduate from college in December of 2008, I felt rather crazy for being so nervous about all of the upcoming change in my life. It was good change: I was moving to live near the love of my life, get married, and start out our life together. It was long awaited - we had been living hours apart for eight months and were more than ready to be reunited.

Grant and his family came to visit Tulsa in December and we took a carriage around Rhema lights.

 

After work one day, I spent some extra time talking to the professor whose research assistant I was at the time. She told me something that I will never forget: All change is anxiety provoking, even good change. Especially when we make major life changes, like life cycle transitions, we have a lot of fears about what those changes may bring. At the time, I was facing a move from Tulsa to Iowa to Kansas. I was going to be leaving my family of origin and joining with Grant in our new family. I was graduating from college and didn't know what was next - I had applied to grad school, but would not know if I was accepted for several months. Everything was changing.

 

Looking back on that time, I worried about the unknown, which turned out to be better than I could have imagined. I was accepted and went to grad school, I feel right at home living here and have developed some wonderful relationships with friends, and I still have a great relationship with my family, even though I miss them.

Grant came to visit me in Iowa and we went snow tubing with my brother. Our hair is messed up because this was at the end when we took our hats off!

Facing change is something that comes in stages in my life, and I often become overwhelmed by what those changes will mean. Thanks to my wise professor, I now often remind myself that I can think of those changes as scary or exciting. With a slight mental shift, I can turn change into something that invigorates rather than discourages.

Love, the George family