Embracing Transitional Seasons

God has a way of giving us big blessings all at once. Over the last month and a half, I started a new job, we bought a house, and we moved into our new house. While all of these are answers to prayers we’ve been praying for years, they each played a role in launching us into a season of transition. These in-between seasons are often times where we find ourselves in a funk. Our routines need to be adjusted, and our rhythms are all out of sorts. The adjustment can be rough. 

My son Wesley is a good example of this right now. We’ve lived in our new house for almost 3 weeks, and he still gets upset when we drive by the exit to our old apartment. He gets confused about where we’re going sometimes because it’s a different way than before. He also has been much more emotional about small inconveniences, likely because he’s a toddler with big feelings, but also because everything seems so confusing for him right now. Wesley has certainly been adjusting much slower than my husband and I.

The adjustment has been huge for us too. We have had to make changes to our schedules, and we even had to sell our old slightly unreliable car and get a newer one for David to drive to work. He has to get up earlier in the mornings in order to make it to work on time, and I’ve had to readjust my entire life due to my new job and our move. It all felt chaotic for a while, but the routines and rhythms we’re building are starting to feel more normal for us.

Learning to Embrace the In-Between

We all will face transition at some point in life, and sometimes, like my experience, it’s many changes all at once. In these in-between places, we can choose to be present and embrace all that this transitional season holds, or we can lose ourselves in the chaos and unknowns. I’m still right in the middle of this transition, but I’ve found a few ways that we can fully embrace transitional seasons:

Name and accept this new season for what it is rather than what you wish it was.

When we are able to name the season we’re in and accept, we’re able to move forward. This practice has helped me tremendously in my pursuit of living more intentionally where I’m at. Especially in transitions, we need to accept that we’re in a time of major change, and that’s okay. This season has purpose, and God is with us every step of the way.

Pay attention to the natural rhythms of this new season to assess what fits, what doesn’t, and what’s a priority that you need to make room for.

While it’s only been about three weeks since we’ve lived in this house, I’ve definitely learned what rhythms are going to come naturally for me, which ones don’t fit, and which ones I will need to work hard to maintain. It’s easy for me to coordinate getting Wesley and I to where we need to be each day. It’s easy for me to get our lunches together and to remember everything that needs to be done in the morning. I’m also finding it easy to wake up earlier in the morning because I know that when I take my time to get ready, I feel more put together and clear headed throughout the day.

But do you want to know what doesn’t fit as naturally? It’s finding time to write, making time (and motivation) to exercise, finding space for studying scripture, and creating good habits around prayer. It’s always the things that will benefit us the most that we struggle to fit into our already busy routines. It’ll continue to be a work in progress in the coming months to make these priorities permanent in my new routine.

Keep your eyes open for the ways God is present and moving in this transitional season. 

Something I’ve been working on over the last few years is keeping my eyes wide open for God. The days when I am actively looking for God are the days when I experience the most peace. And let’s be honest, we need peace more than anything in our transitions. I have to remind myself daily that God is active and working in my midst. I have to rely on Him during this tumultuous time of changes for our family. When my eyes are open, I see Him working all things out on my behalf. 

The other evening, I sat out on our patio when David took Wesley in for his bath and just relished in the breeze. The leaves blew, our grass that needed to be mowed swayed, and the setting sun turned shades of orange and pink. It was in that moment of having my eyes wide open that I remembered that this was what I had been praying for: a home to call my own, a backyard for Wesley to run in, and space to host our friends and family. Even in the transition, God reminds us of his faithfulness to us.

Give yourself grace and be patient with yourself. This is a time of change, and all changes bring natural anxieties and growing pains. 

To be honest, the first week that we lived in our new house, I had regrets about it. I thought we had made a huge mistake, and I missed our apartment more than I thought I would. Seeing Wesley so emotional, all of our things in boxes, and having to fix up more than we expected, I felt overwhelmed. That entire week, I found myself snapping at Wesley and getting frustrated about every little thing. I even doubted my dream of publishing a book and my writing abilities because I didn’t see how I would ever have time to write ever again. 

While this was wildly dramatic of me, we have to acknowledge that big changes come with big feelings, and sometimes those feelings can carry us away. We have to give ourselves grace, be patient with ourselves, and accept that transitions come with some big changes. Those changes will bring about all sorts of feelings, and it’s okay to feel them. It’s just not okay to sit in them for too long or allow them to hold us back from all that God is trying to teach us in this season. Be kind to yourself in your transitional seasons. This is a lesson I’m still learning.

As I Go

As I write this, I have a cat on my lap and Wesley is asleep in his room. My favorite candle is lit, and the sun is brightening up our living room. It’s these simple moments in our new home that remind me that this is exactly what we prayed for. We had offers on multiple homes that were passed over. It took us two years to find this home that we now call ours, and we’re thankful now that God saw a better plan for us. 

So, knowing that God has us in this transition and that this is all through his faithfulness and provision, I’m walking this in-between season with grace, building new rhythms as I go. I can’t wait to see all that God is going to do.