In Times of Transition ...

So I'm pretty sure that I'm going add the title of this post "In Times of Transition ..." to my vows next summer.  My mom and I were talking about transitions this morning and how hard they are, especially if you're used to a steady routine in your life.  My parents are in a huge period of transition right now.  They're packing up the house that they've lived in for almost 15 years and moving to Kent.  The new house is less than a mile from the church, it has a big flat yard and a short flat driveway (something my father has craved after nearly 15 years of singlehandedly plowing an up and down one-tenth of a mile long driveway that gets no sun and usually freezes over) and a pool.  The house is a little bit smaller (from four bedrooms to three) but it's a good move because it's going to give them a chance to get rid of some of the stuff that is old and they don't use anymore.  It's hard to imagine the amount of stuff that accumulates after living in the same house for 15 years and being married for 30 years.  Bruce and I have only been living together for one year and we've already managed to accumulate a lot of stuff.  And that is before wedding presents!!  When Bruce and I were visiting my parents we went through their entire attic and found wedding presents that they never used.  I think registries were potentially the most brilliant invention ever.

I think both my mom and my sister are very stressed about this move (it's not that I think my dad isn't but he tends to think more in terms of what he can accomplish rather than everything that needs to be done).  My mom told me this morning that she doesn't like transitions.  I was quick to agree with her but then thought about some of the amazing joys in life that transitions often bring.  When Bruce and I moved to Atlanta we were basically in a state of transition for months while we figured out our apartment, money, jobs and school and it has turned into an incredible life for us.  I think most parents would admit that when they had children the transition was hard but incredible.  Marriage is a transition but also the be

ginning of a new and wonderful life.  I was quick to agree with my mom when she said that transitions were hard because I agree with her - they've never been easy for me.  But then I started to think about my attitude during transitions ...

What if, instead of treating a transition like something terrible in your life, you treated it like it was a blessing larger than life?  What if, instead of just trying to stay afloat during transition, scrambling to find any semblance of a schedule or routine, we were to treat transition as if it were a vacation, wher

e schedules and plans don't tell us what to do, instead we listen to our hearts and our minds?  What if we embraced times of transition as a joy in our life, and released the tension of the need to control and just enjoyed life?

Transitions seem a lot like waterfalls.  The water is still before the fall and still at the bottom, but in transition between the two it rushes to the bottom at a speed faster than most of us can fathom.  There is no control as to where the water will land and even though it's fast and hard to control it is absolutely beautiful.  And eventually the water lands and begins to move peacefully with natural flow again.

While transitions are fast and hard to control - they have the potential to be absolutely beautiful.  They are showered with the grace and beauty of the hand of God - and eventually everything and everyone lands and begins to moves peacefully with the natural flow again.

With Blessings,

Sarah