Embracing Change in Transition Seasons

Last week I took my kids to a trail near our house in Indiana. It’s been one of my favorite local places for a long time and has a small creek that flows through it to the Eel River. When the weather’s warm the kids slip off their crocs on the muddy banks and let the cool water wash over their feet as they explore the creek bed together.

There is a nice shallow spot with big stepping stones and pebbles that makes for easy crossing. Of course, my kids prefer to find the deepest, muddiest spot to ford the stream. Of course. Then they inevitably lose their shoes and their footing, splashing down on their knees or bottoms into the muddy stream with yelps of surprise and delight.

(Which I’d love to say I always take with a laughter and grace, but I’m deeply not a chill mom and definitely prefer ease and cleanliness to muddy laundry.)

The challenges of change…

In the past 2 months my family has been going through a transition season. Transitions are rarely easy.

We wish we could close our eyes and seamlessly hop from one thing to the next as easily as stepping stone to stone in the shallow part of a clear stream. We more often find ourselves crossing through the mud, slogging step by step, losing our footing, and crashing down with a hard thump. We may make it across, but not easily or cleanly.

The other day I was thinking how much I hated the word “transition”. For me, it’s up there with things like “new normal”, “trying times” and “moist”.

But as I was maligning its very existence, I noticed buried in the word “transition” is the word “sit”. Transitions often ask us to sit in two places at once–to hold multiple emotions and realities. They slow us down to sitting when we’d rather be walking or running–moving forward in some capacity.

We resent transitions because they are hard–on us, on the people left behind, and maybe even on the new people who must make room for us in their already busy lives.

The secret invitation within a transition…

These past two months I’ve been reading in the Psalms. I knew that the raw emotions and reassurance found in them would be powerfully calming to me in this season.

Over and over again, the writer redirects the focus away from the present, changing circumstance and back to God’s faithful love.

“We wait for the Lord; He is our help and shield. For our hearts rejoice in Him because we trust in His Holy name. May your faithful love rest on us, Lord, for we put our hope in you.” -Psalm 33:20-22 (CSB)

God’s faithful love settles us down and sits with us through our big and small changes. In seasons where our actions tend to be erratic and unsure–where we second guess EVERYTHING, God’s love is certain and secure. Whether we walk through shallow streams or struggle step by sloggy step, His love is leading, supporting, and carrying us through.

How to rest in Jesus when life changes…

Transitions are messy and exhausting. Resting in God’s love sounds simple, but when you’re going 1000 different directions at once it can be hard to even know what “stop and rest” means in this season.

Here are some practical ways I have sought to rest in God’s love during this transition season.

• Reading and Scripture writing through the Psalms 4-5 days a week.
• Playing worship music during especially stressful times or when I feel my spirit spiraling into the unknown and catastrophizing.
• Journaling out ALL the feelings. Making time for date nights and girls nights!
• Accepting support from the body of Christ. (While we may be quick to wave off extensions of help or rest from fellow believers, these are a tangible expression of giving and receiving God’s love stirred up from the Holy Spirit and poured out through His children. )
  • “Yes, I would like help packing.”
  • “Yes, you can watch my kids for me.” “
  • Yes, that would be meaningful”
• Radical acceptance of transitions as a natural part of life and God’s plan for us.

Let’s be honest: much of life is moving from transition to transition. If we despise transitions, how much of life are we angrily stomping our way through? What if instead, we followed in the footsteps of the Psalm writers and viewed transitions as seasons to SIT with God and His faithful love for us?

What does God’s Word say about transition and changes?

“Lord your faithful love reaches to heaven, your faitdhfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your judgements like the deepest sea. Lord, you preserve people and animals. How priceless your faithful love is, God! -Psalm 36:5-7a (CSB)

God, may you give us new eyes to see where transitions invite us to sit with You. May we discover new depths to Your never-changing love. As many things in our lives are rearranged, may Your character hold us steady–hold us close. Amen.