Thursday, January 31, 2013

My Last Best Year: Amanda Grace's Story

I got to know Amanda Grace last summer; what a delight she is. Read and love her for yourself:

I moved to the mountains to go to school. I packed my bags and carried the essentials. I came to the mountains to find my future. And when I got here, I somehow saw that the present and future melded. And quite abruptly, crashed into one. I was focused on the finish line, the end goal, the perfect A. I came here to conquer, not to struggle. I moved here to graduate not to linger. And what have I found in these wide-open spaces? Freedom. What have I found atop mountainous places? A clean slate. I came here with the end in mind. But what I found was that the end made me blind. You see, sometimes the finish line is an unknown destination. Forget the crowds, applause and cherry red ribbon. The journey may just be better than the end.

To climb a mountain is to reach the top. But when we trudge forward, race, blindly sprint, we miss the view. I moved to Colorado with three expectations: I would graduate in 2 ½ years, I’d get married and I would make one friend (yes, just one-I had extremely high hopes). Will I be graduating in 2 ½ years? Not even close. Am I soon to be married? Yeah, not exactly. Do I have a friend? I do, and I am blessed to say I have many good, incredibly gracious ones.

I struggle with unmet expectations. I hate failing. I can’t stand disappointment or a plan not coming to fruition. And broken dreams? Well, it must be time to dream a different dream. I came to Colorado for the mountaintop. But there is more to it than the view from top. There are the valleys, the morning dew, the evening chill and the dancing stars. I moved here with closed spaces in mind; safe plans in sight. But plans like that? They become our noose, our clenched fists. I no longer want fenced edges. I want to live in wide-open spaces and mountainous places. Free to fail and brave enough to climb.

No comments:

Post a Comment