TRANSITION

I am resistant to change.  There’s good reason for that.  I could  blame my parents for we lived in the same house where I was born until my senior year of high school.  I graduated with some of the same kids I started kindergarten.  My dad worked in the same job for over 40 years.  My mother never worked outside the home, and we went to the same church until I got married and moved away. 

Not so with my husand who relocated several times throughout his childhood.  As a pastor’s kid, he changed schools every time his dad changed churches…or socks!  So it was important to him that our children never experience that kind of upheaval in their lives.  He wanted “sameness” for them, much as I had all of my growing up years.  And I loved that he felt that way.

It’s no wonder we lived in the same house for 32 years.  Our sons grew up there.  Our grandchildren have played in the same rooms and romped in the same backyard as their daddy.  So how I could ever leave a home that held so many memories?  To let go of the place where my babies grew up was inconceivable…until the day we found the model.  Some things in life are just meant to be. 

We closed on our home last week, and now we’re in transition.  We put all our stuff in a POD, packed some bags, and are living with family and friends until our new house is ready.  While we’re thankful for the Lord’s provision, I have never felt so disjointed  in all of my life.

It seems I can never find the shoes I need or the shirt I was sure we had packed in the green bag.  I’ve closed and opened more zippers in one week trying to find what I need than I ever thought was possible.  So much for being organized! 

There’s been this feeling hanging over me that I’m just not together any more.  Unsettled, disjointed and at times overwhelmed.  Then my eyes landed on this verse.

I’ve read it many times before in other versions, but never saw this translation before.  It’s found in Philippians 4:4.

 Rejoice in the Lord always.  Let your stability be observable to all men.

How the Lord can speak through His Word to our specific circumstances still boggles my mind.  Truly, He is in my transition time.  He was in this move from the very beginning.  There’s no doubt He ordered our steps.  That’s reason enough to display stability during my transition.

In a way, we’re experiencing homelessness.  No, not the kind that leaves me under a bridge in downtown Indy, (thank God) but the kind that is temporary, transitional, and wants to knock me off my feet.  But God is speaking loudly through this season of change.

He reminds me that my circumstances have nothing to do with my stability.   Jesus Christ is my stability.  He’s my Foundation…my Security…my Rock…my Anchor.  He makes my feet like a deer causing me to walk on high places of trouble and responsibility.  He keeps my feet from slipping and my ankles from turning.  He broadens the path beneath me.  He leads me on paths of righteousness.  He holds my hand and and steadies my gate. 

Change and transition have never been easy for me.  But what a difference it makes when I keep rejoicing in Who He is to me during this time.  I must choose to display stability rather than anxiousness.  And that happens only as I focus my thoughts on Him…not on me or my present situation. 

It’s kind of strange to consider that in the past two years, I’ve changed churches, ministries, friendships, neighborhoods and even houses.  I’m okay with that because the One Who never changes never leaves me or forsakes me.  I can do this change-thing with His help.  My prayer is that my stability will be noticed…and God will get all the glory!

Hey, to prove that I’m okay with change, I even let Britney give me a new hair style the other day.  Guess I’m on a roll!