“Sometimes God brings times of transition to create transformation.” Lynn Cowell

Someone once told me that you never “Move On” from grief, but you must learn to “Move Forward” in it!  That’s what is known as being in Transition.  Transition is one of the Hardest, Scariest places to be, because it’s not really a place. It’s a suspension between two places. You’ve “Let go” of what you Know, Love, Lived, and you haven’t yet grasped what lies ahead.  It reminds me of when I went to the circus, and watched with held breath the death defying act of the Flying Trapeze.  One woman swings from a high platform, and then lets go of the bar only to seemingly hang in mid-air waiting for the next bar, or hand to appear.  If she tries to turn back she will fall, if she misses the bar or the other trapeze artist’s hand that hopefully will appear at just the right moment, she will fall.  She is in Transition!  That’s exactly what this stage of my life after my husband’s death feels like.  It’s been 14 months, and I still feel like I am suspended in mid-air praying, hoping, waiting with held breath for the next bar, or hand of direction to appear.  So what do you do when you’ve been through a life altering event (Death of  Loved One, Divorce, Loss of Job, etc.) and you find yourself, like me, in Transition?

1.  Keep your Stance ~ It’s hard when you don’t know what’s in front of you not to want to grab ahold of something, anything for reassurance.  But our faith will never grow in comfortable surroundings!  It is in this time of transition, that transformation can have its way, if we will let it.  It’s natural when you are in a place of loneliness, insecurity, or heartache to want to “fill the void” with the first thing that comes along:  A New Job, A New House, A New Man, A New Diet, A New Drug, A New Project, etc.  Those things may ease the pain of loneliness and fear for awhile, but like the trapeze artist if you try to grab too soon – – you Will Fall!  My  job is just to maintain my stance of Expectant Prayer and Praise, knowing God will answer in His perfect time.  Get up, get dressed, all while praying, and praising the One that Promised He will never leave me or forsake me!  He already knows the next step and at just the right time, when He knows I’m ready to receive it, He will reveal it.
2. Prepare – The only thing to do when you find yourself suspended mid-air in transition is to Prepare for God’s next assignment in your life.  How?  I think of David as a shepherd boy being anointed king by the prophet, and then  . . . being left in the field to keep tending sheep!  I wonder if he, like me, think what the what?  I thought the appointment would start immediately! I’m learning that God Never Wastes a moment, a tear, a tragedy, or a failure.  He uses ALL of those things for my good, and His Glory!  Everything David the shepherd boy did in the field was used by David the King in ruling Israel.  The same is true for us.  What looks mundane, insignificant, painful, boring, useless, etc. will be used to prepare us for His next assignment in our life.  God has not forgotten me, has not benched me because I’m not performing well enough, or left me to figure this out on my own.  He is working even now on my behalf!  He never sleeps, nor does He slumber.  My job is to stay Faithful, Diligent, Trusting, Believing, Working while I Wait.  There is a line in a song I love that says “When I Trust I don’t need to Understand”.  I may not understand Why God is waiting, or What He is doing, but I can Trust whatever He is doing in my life is for My Good and His Glory!
3. Let Go to Move Forward – Just like the trapeze artist cannot take hold of the next bar without letting go of the bar they were on, we too must learn to “Let Go to Move Forward”.  I will never “Get Over” the death of my husband!  Knowing, Loving, and Being One with him for 35 1/2 years of marriage is a part of Who I am, and Always will be!  But . . . I must “Let Go” of my relationship with him, because he is not here, and I cannot replace him.  If I could replace him, then I wouldn’t need to change. I must embrace what life apart from him looks like going forward.  The very essence of the word Transition and Transformation say to Change, Modify,  and Move.  I cannot change and remain the same.  I have to allow God to Alter my thinking, my habits, my heart by laying myself, and everything I once loved on the Alter of His Amazing Grace!  The caterpillar has to let go of the warmth, security, and respite of the cocoon.  The cocoon was only there for a season, and a reason not a lifetime.  It must choose to go through the painful, yet necessary, transition of breaking free from the cocoon of what it has known and loved in order to fully Transform into the butterfly it was meant to be.  As a Christ follower it doesn’t mean I won’t have fear, doubt, confusion, or frustration when everything I’ve known is gone, and I cannot see what lies ahead.  However, God Promises us in Philippians 1:6  “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus”.

Father help me to be content in the transition when everything in me wants to grab anything to relieve the pain, fill the void, and move on.  You know every hair on my head, every word before I speak it, and You KNOW what is best for me.  Help me to Trust even when I do not understand.