Transitions

I recently asked a friend how she was doing since returning to work after maternity leave.  Her reply was, "I'm a little stressed and overwhelmed." 

It got me thinking about transitions.  Shifts and changes to something new are usually hard.  Our brain wants things to be categorized.  Facing unfamiliar situations makes it hard to put things where they belong.  So we sit with the uncomfortable, letting our minds take time to process.  Sometimes, we aren't granted the time to process.  So we move like a deer in head lights, hoping for footing on solid ground.  Anxiety increases.  Prayers rise up.  

The word transition pops up in my mind to a couple of different scenarios.  The most popular  one is the transitioning experienced in child birth.  After a woman has spent hours in labor, preparing the cervix to fully open, she enters the hardest period of childbirth....transition.  It is the most intense and painful time of labor, but on the other side of it is a newborn baby.  

Several years ago, I was getting my hair done with a new stylist.  She was explaining to me why she broke up with her girlfriend.  "She's transitioning and has become depressed...I can't handle her."  Completely clueless, I asked her what she meant by transitioning.  "Changing sexes."  It took me a while to process that one since transitioning ones sex was a new term for me.  From what she explained, transitioning is typically a hard time for most people.  They do hormone therapy, some get a mastectomy, not sure what else, but it all sounds painful, physically, emotionally, & mentally.

The definition of transition is "the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another".    Think of a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly.   

Sometimes we transition into new seasons that we don't want, such as the death of a loved one, job loss, natural disaster, or a break up.  Whether good or bad outcomes, it's the transition period that can produce the most beautiful inner working of our souls.  

Please pause and reread that last statement.  It's important to understand that!  

If we release that time to God, are honest with our emotions and thoughts, and acknowledge the reality of it all, God can bring about more revelation of Him and who we are in relation to Him.  We are His vessels created in His image, being polished so that we can do good works for Him, thus revealing His glory.  Great polishing happens during transitions!  

A few people who went through great transitions are Saul, the Christian persecutor. On the road to Damascus, he ran into Jesus, was blinded, had a great revelation of his sin and who God truly was, and became the famous Paul who wrote much of the New Testament. 

Another is Jacob.  He wrestled with God (something I recommend most people try) and was then given the name Israel. “And he said, your name no more shall be called Jacob but Israel. For as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” (Genesis 32:28)

One of my favorite transitions of biblical men is good ole Peter!  Originally named Simon, Peter undoubtedly knew and loved Jesus.  But boy did he need to go through a transition period in order to feed God's sheep!  What an excruciating period to watch your savior, your best friend, be taken captive, beaten, and innocently hung on a cross.  How quickly Peter denied knowing Jesus 3 times.  That rooster crowing must have marked a grave transition in Peter's heart and mind as he realized how easy it was to betray God.  Imagine what shifted in him to view his own heart in comparison to a holy God.  He came out on the other side a changed person.  

While Jews change names, it is our own souls and minds that undergo the transition.  Hopefully, it's a polishing that reflects God's heart! Hopefully we come out on the other side KNOWING Him more, with fruits of His spirit that testify of his love!

God,
We lean into the path you have for us.
Whatever that looks like.
We cling to you during all transitions
& are grateful that you hold us when we let go! 
We trust the process,
we trust you,
have your way!

---