Today’s blog post started from watching last night’s series finale of Studio 60. In general, I really love series finales, primarily because the writers end the show by giving their characters what the viewers love best. I’ve been known to watch finales of series I have never seen before simply out of curiosity, though I did spare myself from the weird ending of The Sopranos. On Studio 60 there were some very nice resolutions to all the crazy storylines that have been at work since their return from hiatus. The only part that seemed a bit too cheesy even for me was the Matt/Harriet thing. I did like that there was a brief moment where Matt thanked God for everyone’s safety, but they had made such a big deal over the continuing religious arguments between Matt and Harriet–not to mention the wonderful moment on the way to the hospital where Matt looked upward and said “show me something”–that I really thought the resolution could have been better. They went for romantic instead, which of course is probably what most viewers wanted. Oh well. The adoption scenario at the hospital was done very well, and I thought the hostage situation covered some good subjects. By the end of the show, issues were resolved, changes made, and life continued on in hopefully a better and stronger direction. As finales go, Studio 60 was pretty darned good. I’m still going to miss the hell out of this show.
But as I write this today, I think about the constancy of change. Summertime–a time which usually has at least a small vacation from everyday stress–can actually be a time filled with changes. People change jobs, houses change hands, choices are made, chances are taken. Especially in my area, the population seems extremely nomadic. People just don’t tend to stay around for long. I only had to look out my window to see a neighbor moving away, and then turn around to contemplate my own growing stacks of boxes, to remember that “summer vacation” isn’t always just a time to tread water until the relative normalcy of autumn returns.
In general, I hate change, at least change that brings with it a sense of loss. In truth, when change happens, one is almost always giving up something in exchange for something else. Some changes are relatively easy–I hate the work involved in packing up our house, but I can’t wait to move to a larger house. Some are difficult–leaving something familiar to take a chance on something more. Every ending brings a new beginning. The question that always comes is, is the change that’s coming really going to be better than what you leave behind? I guess it’s that uncertainty that gnaws away at me, makes me so resistant to change. It tells me that either I don’t have enough faith in my own choices, or I don’t really trust that God will lead me to where I’m supposed to be. Neither of those is a particularly good thing. I think I will need to work on that.