A Little Bit of Faith


This past week I had an experience with my daughter that reminded me that as bad as things seem to be at times, things can always get better.

My 17 year old is amazing! She's beautiful and smart and fun and kind... as most daughters are. She has been a straight A student her whole life and has been dancing and cheering since she was three years old. The straight A's come natural to her and she doesn't have to work that hard for them, however, as much as she loves to dance, being on the High School cheer team has taken a tole. She loves the girls and the coaches, but the stress of early morning practices, night practices, and the pressure of getting ready for competition season had became too much. In the last few months she had said a few times that it was getting overwhelming and would completely stress out the night before an early morning practice. Then this past Sunday she had a total meltdown from the anxiety she was feeling about the Monday morning practice coming up. This is when I agreed she needed to quit. She felt relieved that I agreed too, but continued to cry on and off for the next hour or two. Although she was relieved, I think she also felt sad that she wouldn't be able to continue and, since she only has a year left of High School, I think she realized this is probably the end of her cheerleading adventures. So with that I let her grieve as long as she needed for this stage of life that was coming to an end. My older daughter was with us as well so we hugged her and comforted her, ordered take out, made cheesecake, and talked late into the night about all the things she could do with her new found freedom. 

By bedtime she seemed calmer and more at peace with the decision and when she talked to the coaches the next day they were supportive and understanding and, as much as the team would miss her, they too gave their support. When she returned home her whole countenance had changed... I think she felt lighter, understood, and loved. She started talking about having more time to do all the things she's been wanting to do, but hasn't had time for. As she talked more about the possibilities her face lit up and she began to smile. Just as she got up to go meet a friend she received a text message from the cookie place she had applied to the previous week.... she got the job. Excited, she couldn't wait to talk to her friend about it.... her friend had also applied and was hired. So as I watched  her pick up her keys and head towards the door I noticed how different the expression on her face was from the day before... in one day it had turned from utter despair to what looked to me like Hope.

I've been through days like this many times in my life, as we all have, but somehow I'm still always surprised and in awe at how fast things can turn around. I know all too well that they don't always turn around that quickly, however, when they do it seems miraculous. It's a wonderful reminder that tomorrow is a new day and even if it takes longer than one day, or one year, or 3 years... things will get better one way or another. I wish I would have known this when I was younger... sometimes that's all we need to know to keep us going... but I guess these are the lessons we learn in life and the benefit of getting older, wiser, and seeing how God comes through for us in the end. We can trust now that things will work out for us simply by holding onto hope, and having A Little Bit of Faith...

"Ohhh, it's gonna be okay...."





 

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