fish-bowl

 

I have had the feeling that many of us are in a place of transition right now.

Over the past 6 years in particular, I feel as if I’ve been transitioning almost nonstop.

I am certainly not an expert, but I have learnt a great deal along the way. Mostly through trial and error.  

Response to Transition

I have responded in countless ways to transition, here are a few you might recognise:

1/ The tanti…..(or, I don’t want transition! Insert stamping of the foot here.)

2/ The pityparty girl…(Why me? I never asked to be in this place, it isn’t fair)

3/ The analyser…..(questioning God over how this happened. What did I do wrong? What am I being punished for? When will this end?)

4/ The processor…(so….if I work this out enough, maybe I can increase the speed of this all finishing up. If I ask enough questions and behave with certain “right” responses, then it’ll speed up the process. Insert pros and cons list and maybe some butchers paper.)

5/ The hermit it up chick…..(I am retreating up a storm right now, because my mind is just coping with what I am dealing with right now. Today is enough! Just enough gas in the tank to live today)

6/ The overwhelmed one……(ARGH!!!! It’s all too much and I don’t have the brain space to know what to do with it.)

7/ The pretender…..(If I don’t see the transition, then it’s actually not there)

8/ The fearless warrior…..(I’m going to push through and not think too much about the process of it all. It’ll eventually change – or I’ll break – one of the 2)

9/ The step back…..(turn and run backwards, very fast…then I can return to comfort and ease. lololololol)

10/ The complainer….(why am I the only one who seems to be going through this hard stuff.)

11/ The legal eagle…..(this doesn’t make legitimate sense, I have done everything well, I’ve followed the rules. I am innocent!!)

12/ The anger monkey….(if I’m going through hard, then everyone else in my family is going to feel it too!)

13/ The breakdown…..(body is broken, hope feels broken, nothing is working as it should – think I’ll just plomp down and eat a few kilos of lollies.)

14/ The I give up….(I give up!)

15/ The Eeyore….(humph…I’m tired of all of this. Think I might go and have a nap)

Very few of these responses (albeit human responses) – have helped me to cope with the circumstance I found myself in-let alone thrive despite it.

What actually is transition?

“The process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another. Transformation, change, move, conversion.”

When I am in a place of transition, how I deal with it, often comes down to how I perceive it.

By that I mean, how do I see what I am going through?

Each of the responses above, see transition as something painful and altogether negative. The dread response, bringing hopelessness, powerlessness, fruitlessness, worry, upset and heavy.

Did God ever say that life would be easy and times of growth a breeze? Nope!

He did say that we will experience transition in life – if we are in Him. It was a sign of health. He did however promise much reward if we’ll remain in Him and trust Him with whatever comes along. He promised that we would have life to the full in Him. (but more about that later)

As a kid, I have so many memories of painful growth moments.

Take teeth for example, without the pain of having the baby tooth loosen, then come out in a toffee apple from the local market – I would not have been able to grow a full set of strong adult teeth for life.

My teen years are another season of change that I could very well choose to forget about it. I longed for the time to be over, even when I was going through it. The embarrassing shifts, the weird body stuff and the altogether loopy hormonal things….uch…makes me cringe thinking about it.

BUT…it was needed. Without that time, I would not be here. I would not have my family. 

Transition can be difficult, painful, confusing, hard, upsetting, lonely, deep, tiring…it can be all these things….but it is also entirely necessary.

Without the process of transition I question whether any of us would be here…in actuality we wouldn’t. Life is a constant process of moving from one state to another.

As believers, we have the added bonus in our journey – travelling with God’s hope amidst whatever we find ourselves in. When we are not moving in God, we are often going backwards. So hold on….it’s a wild ride at times, but soooooo worth hanging in there for.