3 Critical Steps to Thrive In Seasons of Transition

Its seems as though, no matter who you talk to, regardless of time of year, or season of life, everyone is going through a season of transition.

Whether you are transitioning from 1 to multiple children or becoming empty nesters,

transitioning to having your kids home to now going to school,

transitioning to a new job or choosing to stay at home with your kids,

transitioning to a new season of health issues or trying to start a new healthy path,

or transitioning to a new home or new place or just remolding your current one...

Transitions are happening all the time.

I've shared about the big decision we made this year to move our family to Boone, NC from my home, Jacksonville, FL.

Over this past year, we were in a season of transitioning from 2 to 4 boys,  having our oldest start Kindergarten and homeschooling him part time, my husband learning a new job that comes with some travel, learning a new city, finding a new church home, AND remodeling our house.

And just recently, we were SURPRISED to find out we were expecting BABY BOY #5!!!

Talk about UNEXPECTED transitions!!!

Before the chaos of our move,

Before the moving truck arrive to load up the only life we knew,

We found ourselves in a season of surviving.

​Just trying to make it to the end of another day.

But we soon realized, we can't live in that season for too long.

We needed to look around at or circumstances, meet the Lord where He had us, and learn to THRIVE in the midst of these big transitions we were living in.

Transition : the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.

Whatever your physical "act" of transition...your "change," they all come with heightened emotions of researching, planning, and ALL THE DOING!

This leaves our minds feeling like we are in a whirlwind and we can't seem to focus on what's right in front of us. 

​With these 3 steps, I was able to focus on the moment.

The here and now.

And see where God had us. 

Where He was leading us.

​And how we could start to Thrive and not just Survive.

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1. Find time to Rest

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
- Matthew 28-30.

Change is always uncertain, a little scary, but there's a bit of hope lurking that we can cling to. 

Time passes quickly with ALL THE THINKING. 

Exhaustion creeps in with ALL THE DOING

BUT...

Before it all unfolds, before things have actually changed, before, when we feel in over our heads with all the preparing, thinking, and analyzing the next step, there are precious moments in there where the Lord is calling us to REST IN HIM.
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• Set your quiet time as PRIORITY.
• Take a walk ALONE.
• Grab some coffee with FRIENDS.

If we miss the quiet moments before the change, before the transition, before we get to where we're going...

we MAY MISS sweet moments with the Lord.

we MAY MISS seeing the blessing in the midst of the chaos. 

And WE MAY walk into our transition with a bitter heart and poor spirit.

JUST REST IN HIM!

2. Search Out Others Who Have Walked in Your Shoes

God goes before us, and paves a way for us...but sometimes, we need to do a little work on the sidelines. 

I know it's hard to believe when we are in the thick of transition, but, WE ARE NOT THE FIRST TO GO THROUGH THIS!

In the midst of our transition, while we prepared our house to sell, sought out a home to purchase, researched schools and churches in a new town, and just being an exhausted emotional wreck about leaving my home...

God brought NEW FRIENDS.

In the evenings because I chose to "rest", I had the ability to respond and connect with two sweet ladies through email, who had reached out to me to welcome us and offer any help they could provide from afar.

Knowing that I had people waiting for us to arrive was a blessing I didn't know my heart needed. I'm honored to now call them dear friends. 

• Ask around to see if you can connect with someone who has gone before you.
• Search out a group on Facebook that pertains to your new season of life.
• Pray for the Lord to bring someone into your path that you can lean on.

Side Note: If you're not in a stage of transition yourself, but you know someone who is...someone who is about to walk in the same shoes you've walked in...reach out to them! Encourage them! It will move mountains in their heart! ​

3. Let Go & Say Goodbye

In the midst of our transition, the Lord provided time to physically rest, which provided me to emotionally dwell on the RIGHT things before the big transition happened.

Specifically, I was able to soak up the "here and now" moments with my family, friends, and our home we were about to say goodbye to.
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For me, it was incredibly hard to say goodbye to our home.

It was the house I never thought I'd stay in for very long, but it became the home that was incredibly hard to leave.

It was the home we had brought all our babies home to. It was the home that encapsulated all our memories as a family. 

I decided, as the time neared to walk out our door for the last time, I needed to say goodbye.

I go to pictures for my emotional outlet.

So, naturally, I chose to do a "top 10 countdown" of all the things I would miss about my house, documented and there if I ever wanted to go back to them.
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Whatever it is you are saying "goodbye" to, this step in the transition can be critical in moving forward with the right heart attitude and setting yourself up to Thrive!

• Take a picture - if you're like me, holding onto the moment with a picture is key.
• Keep a momento - maybe there is something you can tangibly take with you to remember the season or place you are moving from.
• Set aside a specific time to reflect - maybe a picture or momento isn't an option in your situation, but TIME to think and DWELL on scripture and your situation will allow you to let go and say goodbye in a healthy way.

You may miss certain things you're leaving behind, but it's important that we don't DWELL on them and make them idols in our heart. Those idols can easily turn to bitterness and resentment to where He has you now.

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The Lord took care of our "before," , and once we arrived where we were going, he had already been working on "the after".

Our hearts are still in the process of transition, but we are drawing near to Him and looking ahead to fulfilling why He brought us here.

***Stay tuned for Part 2 of Thriving in Transition!***

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