Unfolding Soul Prints

This morning I sat in a hospital room and held a new born baby. It seems like only yesterday that Sarah was a new born, and now she's graduating from high school. It amazes me that all three of my daughters were uniquely different from each other. Of the three Sarah was the one from the very beginning that HATED change. Even as an infant if I nursed her or held her in a different position she would throw a fit. As she grew older getting rid of an old toy or a stuffed animal that was losing its stuffing had to be done very gently and usually with much ceremony. I was hoping that it was something she would grow out of, but I'm still waiting. As her older sisters have moved away from home, our holiday traditions have had to change a bit, and with each change Sarah would dig in her heels and fight for things to stay the same. Now she's packing up her room for college, saying good-bye to teachers and friends, and every step requires deep courage and is bathed in tears. The other night she pulled out one of her childhood books and asked me if I'd read her a bedtime story.
Change is difficult for a lot of us. There are times when I want time to stop and just for a moment for everything to stay like it is. That is one of the reasons I love to journal and take photos. No matter how much changes I can open a journal, read an entry, or flip through a photo album and I'm immediately transported to a moment that no longer is and I can remember and rejoice in the change that happened and find the strength to face the changes that are happening now.