This summer my family moved to a new state. Over the past couple months, I've repeatedly heard my younger daughter say, "I still don't feel like this is home. It feels like we're on a trip, and we need to get back."
Sometimes she says it through tears. Other times she says it just matter-of-factly. And sometimes she even laughs about it. This fluctuation of emotions pretty much sums up the ups and downs that go along with moving.
But I must admit something. My daughter's recurring comment, whether said through laughter or tears, has worried me. You see, this particular child is my Firefly with glasses that sit on the tip of her nose. She has prominent freckles and unruly hair that refuses to behave in a smooth and orderly fashion. This child is a Noticer with a keen awareness of other people's struggles and fears, especially her own. On more than one occasion she's maturely expressed that she is "different" from the rest. This child is a friend to all, but not really attached to one. She marches to her own beat, makes up her own lyrics, sings like no one is listening. What happens to someone like this when thrown into a new environment with people who know nothing of her inner gifts? Back in our former community, she was loved and celebrated "as is." We are now in a much bigger city where life is fast and unfamiliar. Would her light brighten or dim here? I've wondered many times.
Well, I was just at the height of my worry when something happened. I guess you could call it a game-changer. In this case, I'm calling it a story-changer. I share this experience as a means of grasping what matters in a fast-paced, overly distracted, pressure-cooker world. Whether we are lost or we are found, just a few moments with open hands and attentive eyes can turn things around.
This is our story...
[For more of this story, written by Rachel Macy Stafford, go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...rents&ir=Parents]
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