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. 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.
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.
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. 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. 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!
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. 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!***
6 Comments
You make several great points here, but I think my favorite is allowing ourselves time to grieve what we're leaving behind as we move on to something new. Everybody always seems to want to get to good when changes happen they forget there is an appropriate time to grieve what we're giving up. No matter what it is as things change! Blessings!
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Christi | Dwelling Well Mom
6/23/2018 01:07:38 pm
Yes! I've learned the hard way that when we don't allow space to grieve and say "goodbye" to what we are leaving behind, it leaves space for LOTS of negative emotions to creep in when you least expect it!
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6/13/2018 08:53:08 pm
Thanks so much for sharing this. We are getting ready to move, hopefully next summer - from NY to TN. A big move for us, and we are excited, but it will def. have lots of transitions! Like you, this isn't the house I thought I'd always be in, but it's the house we bought when we got married, that we brought our boys home to... I try not to think about what it will be like when we actually have to walk out, but as much as I want to go, I know it will be hard to leave. Thanks for sharing this, Christi! It's helping prepare me for what's ahead!
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Christi | Dwelling Well Mom
6/23/2018 01:09:55 pm
Oh Kate, I'm SO glad this was able to speak to your heart and help prepare for what lies ahead. I can assure you, that these steps, although done in a very short amount of time (over the course of a month or two), allowed my heart to step into the much anticipated yet very uncertain adventure we were about to go on! Prayers for you and your family during your transition!!
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6/18/2018 05:53:39 pm
Great suggestions...we are facing some transitions right now, and I really appreciate your words of encouragement. I often feel so overwhelmed by the to-do's that I fear I'm missing sweet moments with my family and my Father. Thanks for the reminder to stop and rest!
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Christi | Dwelling Well Mom
6/23/2018 01:11:56 pm
Charlie, I'm so glad this was a good reminder for you. The to-do's can swallow us, and I pray you will be able to rest and see what the Lord is revealing to you during this time!
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Welcome to Dwelling Well Mom! I'm so glad you are here! I'm Christi, wife, mom of boys, Christ follower, picture taker, DIYer, chocolate eater, and coffee drinker. Born and raised a Florida girl, now braving the mountains of Boone, NC, I'm on a journey to find peace in the midst of my mundane. Join me!
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