This tree is an example of beautiful transition.
Fall is a time of transition and transition can sometimes be messy. My driveway is covered in leaves and so is our yard and our trampoline. The dictionary defines transition as the process or period of changing from one condition or state to another. During labor, the transition phase is the most intense, but so important to get to the next phase of actually getting a baby into the world.
We spend a large part of our lives in transition. We transition from middle school to high school, from high school to college and from college to a career. We transition from children to teenagers and this transition is so infamous, in recent years, it’s been given its own name, the tween years. Next, we transition from teens to adults, from single to married and sometimes back to single. We transition from full-time parents to empty nesters and from working daily to retirees. Sometimes transitions are smooth with little to no mess or worry and sometimes these periods can be incredibly painful. Sometimes we wonder if we will survive them.
In the Bible, almost the entire New Testament is dedicated to people in transition. The new church was growing and spreading, but there were all kinds of issues and disagreements like how much Jewish law did the new Gentile converts have to observe. There was a huge struggle over legalism versus grace. Happily, grace won. They argued over how to worship and about women’s roles in the church, about submitting to authority and who was actually in charge. The list is almost endless. Some churches like the ones in Corinth had all kinds of problems. The Thessalonians, on the other hand, seemed to have very little trouble getting along with one another and keeping the faith, although they were often persecuted. All of the early churches laid the groundwork for our faith today. Their early struggles and transitions were recorded and give us all faith, hope, and guidance.
The most important thing to remember about transition is that it’s temporary. It’s a process or period, not forever. The caterpillar has to transition to a butterfly. It doesn’t just wake up one day and fly, no, it has to create a cocoon a tight, restrictive place where it changes into something completely different, but beautiful. While we may feel like we are in the never-ending doldrums or a suffocating cocoon or we find ourselves wondering if life will ever slow down or be normal again, we need to have faith that God has something fabulous planned just up ahead if we persevere.
If you woke up this morning, God is still working with you and through you and while yesterday may look better than today, take heart at the words of Paul: No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Jesus Christ is calling us up to heaven. Philippians 3:13-14 NLT
In other words, if we keep our eyes on the prize of Jesus and where we are going, where we are at this very moment doesn’t really matter. We just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other trusting in our loving father and knowing he has huge plans for us, plans better than anything we could imagine ourselves. Are you in some type of transition today? Please feel free to comment.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂