As this school year starts, things are beginning to change – starting a new grade, new schools and even some are graduating. With that comes changes with friends, teachers and just life in general. I know for me, in particular, I just recently graduated. In saying that, I have just closed a large chapter of my life.
It is crazy to think that after 13 years (kindergarten to 12th grade), I am legally free from having to go to school, and I am an adult. With that being said, though, when closing a chapter in our Book of Life, it is necessary to leave some things behind. For me, it's certain behaviors I have developed over the past years, as well as letting go of certain people and drama.
Graduating is a very sad thing because now you are going to be thrown out into the big world. Friends that are younger than you are still in school, so in most cases, those friends don't last unless they are close. But at the same time, with graduating you are able to start fresh because you are no longer in the same environment.
Isaiah 43:18 states, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past."
What this is pretty much saying is that the past is the past, and you can't keep dwelling on it because nothing is going to change. This verse applies to me because there have been some things I keep saying to myself like, Why did this have to happen? Why didn't I do this, why didn't I do that? What we all need to understand is that the past is the past and nothing can be done to change it. The only thing you can do is modify your expectations for the future so you know what to do differently.
One common saying that many people have told each other is, "God doesn't close one door without opening another." That saying is very true, and it's amazing to see it happen before your eyes.
These past few months have been really rough between a friend and me. We ended up not talking for a good four to five months. A few weeks ago, some things began to change. We started talking and being more open. During that time, I have been praying and asking for God's guidance on what to do and how to handle it. But unfortunately, things seem to have come to a halt. Since that has happened, I've been praying harder and harder, asking for God to show me what I need to do. Last night, I think the sign was shown. He brought someone else closer to my life. From what I am seeing and understanding, God has used me for what ever purpose was needed with the person's life, and it is just time to close that chapter and open the next.
With all this being said, closing a chapter can be a very hard and scary thing. This is because we may want something or someone to stay so badly that we try so hard keep them. What many of us do not realize, though, is that we are hindering God from doing what He has planned for our lives. In the end, God's plan will always go through, but it will take a lot longer. The number one thing we all need to understand is that God is by our side through every step of our lives.
My senior quote in the yearbook was, "When God pushes you to the edge of difficulty, trust Him fully, because two things can happen: either He will catch you when you fall, or He will teach you how to fly."
My personal meaning to this is that God is going to push us to the edge of difficulty. This is how He builds us up, He is taking us out of our comfort zone. What we all need to do is trust Him fully because no matter what, He will be there in the end. He will either to catch us right before rock bottom, or He will have us hit rock bottom so He can rebuild (teach) us and show us how to move on (fly).
When you come to the end of the chapter, will you continue to dwell in the past, or trust in Him?
