The joy of the unknown…

We have all had those moments of apprehension – where we hesitate, even if just for a second, because we don’t know what is around the corner. Everyone – especially parents – can recall the great stress that the unknown or significant change can create. But let’s talk about the unknown just for a bit… before we go too far into it, however I think it is only fair that we stress the name of this blog Catholic Chaos.

So why do we fear the unknown? Why do we fear change? We (well really Danyelle) could write a thesis on the psychological side and as an added bonus you all would quickly drift to sleep. We will do our best to avoid that, but it is important to recognize that in most cases there are some things happening in the brain that can’t be helped (for most people at least, we know a few whose brains no long function too much). There are things that cannot be helped but for the most part, the misery surrounding such change and unknown is one we create. We fear that make believe a three-headed spider monkey on the other side of the door. In our minds the world is still flat and if we walk through that door we will fall off the face of the earth. We tremble because we feel that the little green troll will destroy all we know if we venture too far from our hovel. We only have to look to our kids to understand the ridiculousness of it all…

Why is it when we tell our three year old to jump into the deep end of the pool she smiles as she plunges? Why is it when we ask our 7 year old to take off her life jacket (she refuses to learn to swim) she shows no hesitation as she sinks like a rock? We can say it is due to their lack of life experience or understanding of the world around them – but we would offer another explanation.

They trust – they trust that their parents will not lead them astray or let them sink all the way to the bottom. And if they were to sink, they trust that their parents will quickly lift them back to solid ground. When we call them to act, they act (which can be quite amusing at times). They turn to their parents… why can’t we do the same? Why can’t we turn to Our Father in the same way our kids trust us? In a world full of Chaos, it is all too easy to forego our faith for the sake of control and comfort. We refuse to look past material things and the safety of the known to follow the road that He has laid out for us. Our children can be an example to us to turn our hearts to the Father that loves us beyond worldly understanding. The joy of the unknown, of change, is that it brings us closer to Him if we are only willing to have faith and trust that Our Father will bring us back up to solid ground if we begin to sink.

Now with that said, we just received the list of open positions for our upcoming transfer and it is not what we were expecting. Once we are done beating back the three-headed spider monkey we will offer this to Him and follow the path that will undoubtedly bring us more joyous chaos…

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

-Jeremiah 29:11