Unknown

From the following prompt in Monica Wood's Pocket Muse on page 1... as good a place to start as any...

What are you waiting for? If not now, when?

Easter came a bit early for my nieces when we visited this weekend. We stuffed plastic eggs with candy, snapped them shut, and concealed them in bushes and tall grasses around the yard so that the treasures inside were doubly hidden. It was really no big mystery what they would find inside the eggs - one shake would reveal the ones with jelly beans, and after about the third peppermint patty it really just came down to process of elimination between two possibilities. Still, each new egg held the possibility of unknown.

The unknown can intrigue us, tempt us, or frighten us. It is the contents of the iconic "box of chocolates," the unseen future, and the missed opportunity. It is always a gamble whether or not to reveal the secret or stay oblivious. It sometimes seems safer to stay unmoving in our comfort zone rather than venture out into the new.

Sometimes, change is forced upon us. My best friend found out she was pregnant around Christmastime ("the best Christmas present ever," she said) and whether she wants it or not, the unknown is stretched out before her. She will know pain and worry, joy and happiness, smells and sounds like she's never experienced before. Fortunately, I find that she is embracing the whole idea - this week she finds out the baby's gender. Armed with this small piece of knowledge, she will go forth and face what is coming.

I'm ready for change, but it seems it's not ready for me. I'm tired of waiting. I'm ready now. I want to be healed, hired, and heard. Right now, these things are beyond my control, so I have to live with the unknown wrapped around me like a shell. The best I can do is wait with giddy anticipation for the mystery that will be revealed when the egg hatches.