Vicissitude

I stole this word off a friend's fridge. For many reasons, I do not feel bad for stealing it. One: the guys who originally had it on their fridge have HUNDREDS of words on their fridge. Two: they couldn't define this word. IF they were able to, I'd give it back. Three: this word means more to me than it does them. HA! (And that, folks, is the kind of great debating you'd see from me if we were to ever be at war.)
Words rock my life. (Hence my active role in writing and my obvious obsession with talking.) I love word-play, word-games, word-flurries of expression, word-analogies, and dictionaries...Oh and thesauruses too!
Anyway, in case you haven't already done it, I am going to provide you with two reliable sources of the definition for this word, so that as I continue this blog- you aren't distracted by wondering what it means.

Dictionary.com
–noun
1. a change or variation occurring in the course of something.
2. interchange or alternation, as of states or things.
3. vicissitudes, successive, alternating, or changing phases or conditions, as of life or fortune; ups and downs: They remained friends through the vicissitudes of 40 years.
4. regular change or succession of one state or thing to another.

And then...a less reliable source, but humorous: (trust me, it was a shocker this word was even listed on this site...)
Urbandictionary.com

vicissitude
Quite literally change, or chaotic nature. Vicissitude would be used to describe the emotional state of mental patients or the chemical properties of nitro and glycerin.
Vicissitude is a word that is used mainly to belittle others in that very few people know it's meaning.

I am vicissitude. Not EXPERIENCING vicissitude. I am IT. Growing up, my friend's mom used to refer to me as "her effervescent daughter". I couldn't really deny that description. (If you're now being distracted by wondering what THAT means....–adjective
1. effervescing; bubbling.
2. vivacious; gay; lively; sparkling.
3. To show high spirits or animation.)
So, combine effervesc-ing with vicissitude-ing. Anyone wanna know what we have on our hands? Cataclysm. That could be a little dramatic on the description, but I feel right up there with world disaster.
I know I'm not the only one to struggle with change, or to struggle with a passionate opinion, so again, I'm not worried about you not relating. There have been moments in my life where my effervescence has bubbled right past what could have wrecked me. And there have also been moments where the life shifts have taken my passion and turned it right into my own poison. I'd like to claim some sort of middle ground between the two, saying that I sometimes just skirt through life unaffected and unaffecting, but realistically- I'm not even designed that way.
Right now, and if you can associate with this respond with an encouraging "AMEN, sista", I am in a turbulent season of change, instability, uncertainty and metaphorical disability.
Normally, I thrive off the unknown. I love adventure. Unexpected turns and interesting sights along the ride are adventurous. Exploring a new beginning is adventurous. Shifting of foundations and hidden plates deep under the surface is NOT adventure. That is a life shattering earth quake.
I would say I've learned a LOT about faith in the last 8 months. Probably very confident in the fact that I've gained 90% of my foundational understanding and practical application of the very thing more so now, than at any other point in my life.
The thing that is saving this vicissitudinal effervesc-ing mess? This concept:
I was reading in a bible study I am doing from Sheila Walsh called: Extraordinary Faith and one of the chapters was hashing out the topic of "count it as joy to be testing because in the end you will shine and God will have purified you". I wanted to really, just skip past this chapter. I have had a hard time counting testing as a joyful event let alone being able to see any future of shining like purified gold. But, thankfully I didn't. Because God revealed one more amazing thing about His character and MY season.
There's a million verses that talk about being tested, so it's not a new concept. Back then, the analogy they used a lot was testing from God was like the purification process of a precious metal. A few of the verses kept mentioning a "crucible". I knew what a crucible was from chemistry- the un-meltable, un-ruinable, ugly cup thing you can mess with chemicals in and not worry about them burning a hole through the bottom. It's basically indestructible to handle the chaos happening within it.
That very sentence melts my anxiety ridden heart. God is the crucible. God's faithful, unchanging self houses all the change, all the chaos, all the pain. He is the constant protecting us when life isn't as stable as we could hope. When we're undergoing cataclysmic change, he's there holding it. He even catches the bubbling spills that overflow.
I know I'm going to come out of this deal still a voluptuous ball of effervescing vicissitude. That's Rosie. God doesn't strip us of our personality in the fire. He purifies it. And I guess that's where I get the joy from. The thought of being more pure.