The Only Constant is Change

My life has been full of change over the past couple of years. Two years ago, we left our long-term church home and joined a new one. Last year, we moved twice within 6 months (by choice, but still crazy!). So far this year, we have watched our oldest daughter get her driver's license, graduated her from high school, and celebrated her eighteenth birthday. We've also enrolled our second daughter in early college classes and looked into college plans for next year. And though it's too early to mention the specifics, even more big changes are on the horizon.

Over this summer (while things have settled down for a bit), I've had a chance to reflect on all these recent changes and the ones to come. I am generally not afraid of change—I often embrace it—but there is an element of this new season of my life that makes me reluctant to move forward and wistful for days gone by.

Since I've become a mother, I would say I've gone through two or three different “seasons” before this one. The first was becoming a stay-at-home mom to small children. This period was full of struggles: sleepless nights, early marriage arguments, and learning to accept that my time was not my own. Eventually we settled into a routine, and though this season was often physically exhausting, those were “simpler times” from the perspective of today.

Then our kids hit school age, and I had to learn how to be not only a mom but a homeschooling mom. As one who struggles with structure and time management, this transition was again difficult. It took me several years to feel like I was “in the groove.” Once there, however, it felt relatively simple to coast from one year of homeschooling into the next.

The next level was joining a homeschool co-op and teaching high school, both at home and a class (or two) at co-op. This season began four years ago, and unlike the others, this one came with practically zero growing pains. The kids and I adjusted quickly, and the last four years of schooling have felt mostly smooth and fulfilling. Through the craziness in other areas of our lives, school (including co-op) has felt like a constant in the midst of other change.

But now, school is also beginning to change. In addition to one daughter graduating and another taking college classes for the first time, I'm preparing to teach first grade to my youngest. My next oldest is going into seventh grade, so it's been a bit since I've taught those early grades! There will be adjustments to make at co-op as well. Some amount of change is typical every year, but the biggest change for me is that a few students and moms who are special to me will not be returning to co-op due to graduation and various other factors. For some of my other friends, this year at co-op will likely be their last. It's suddenly coming home to me that while I still have a five-year-old and many years left of homeschooling, the same is not true for some of my good friends.

I have long imagined what this new season of parenting would be like. I am not overly sentimental, so the idea of launching my older children into the world of adulthood does not really bother me. I have also always wanted a larger family, so the fact that I simultaneously have a child in the early stages of education while launching others is not unexpected. Yet as with most transitions into a new season, it's more challenging once you actually reach it than it seemed when it was only imagined. In some ways, I am ready to embrace the change . . . but in other ways, change seems scary and uncomfortable, and I wish things could just stay the same.

But I know, as my title says, that nothing is constant but change. Some changes are expected. For example, we obviously wanted our oldest daughter to graduate and have been working towards that for many years! We are excited to see her moving on in life and look forward to what the future has for her. Other changes are quite unexpected; we had felt settled in our former church and previous house, but God and circumstances moved us very strongly in another direction. The unexpected changes have typically been more difficult, but that doesn't mean they have been all bad. While we miss things about our old church and old home, we are very happy with our new ones. We have felt God guiding us throughout this process, and overall we can see how He is working things together for our good. In short, change may be difficult, but it often results in good things.

Maybe you too see big changes on the horizon. If you don't, well—they're probably coming soon! But I hope my ramblings can remind you (as I'm reminding myself!) that change is a normal part of life. Growing pains are to be expected, but God is in control. Maybe He has something better for you on the other side of this next big change!