The Game of Growing Up
When a child gets bored of a toy, they are on the lookout for a new one.
When a child goes to school, they find new friends.
When a child grows, they play new games.
Children don't question these things. They simply go with the flow of change,
pursuing new hobbies and interests; developing thoughts and feelings.
Once a child begins to question change, the child puts away the toys,
doesn't look for new friends, and begins to play a new game, the life game.
Only then the child is no longer childish, the child is simply following the
rules of the life game; growing up.
I started to play when I was eight years old.
Is change really good? Like a game of chess, my first move was asking this question.
As a child, I was taught that change was normal. Everything was supposed
to change, from the way I look, to the way I think, to the way I speak.
But after my parent's divorce, I didn't believe this to be true.
After my first failure, I didn't believe this to be true.
After my first anxiety attack, I didn't believe this to be true.
My second move was accepting that change sometimes came with pain.
I cried, I lied, and I died (metaphorically speaking of course).
But after all of this, I realized that change really is good. I may have lost some
good things, but I believe God is directing me towards something better.
My third move is....
I don't know. But the only way to find out is to keep growing, to keep changing,
and to keep playing the game.