The End Of An(other) Era

Recently I wrote a post about the necessity of dealing with change.  As I've continued to think on that concept, some more thoughts have come up on the topic.

It always seems like such a catastrophe when we see a tradition end.  Something we held dear, had an abundance of fond memories with is no longer.  When we find out it's not going to happen, typically we start kicking and screaming about how things will never be the same and it's such a mistake.

This past Easter was an example of that for me and my family.  We wanted to try and get everyone together; no small feat with everyone spread out hours apart.  To try and make the dinner easier, my mom suggested we do a simpler meal of  easily made sides and sandwiches.  The insult!  It was Easter!  We needed a full spread no matter how complicated!

Examining why we hold so dearly to a tradition can be tricky.  It's complex and typically involves a lot of emotion.  If we're not careful, we can even forget the 'why' of our love for it (time spent around loved ones, etc.) and desperately try to hold onto the details of the old tradition: we have to go to this place, have to eat this particular thing, etc.

I've seen some of my youth volunteer leaders fall into this.  They had a great time on a trip that had been done before and if we choose to not do that particular trip in favor of another, they feel personally attacked and take offense that we aren't doing that trip.  They'll say "everyone connects so much on that trip, they love it so much!".  

As our Easter dinner had the bottom fall out, (food took too long to cook, grandparents got tired of waiting for dinner and left, fighting and tears ensued...) I realized that if I could have caught the vision my mom had for making a difficult task easier, nearly every issue that arose would have been avoided.

This can be tricky to help of volunteers to understand.  Remind them that what matters from trips is the bonds formed, the relationships that get to develop.  While it was great we got to do it in one location, remind them the benefits of forging all new memories in new adventures.  

The familiar can be comfortable, but comfortable rarely leads us to any meaningful development.  With students especially, steps outside of comfort are a must.  

Let's be gracious and understanding as traditions end and over communicate the benefits and thought behind the new.