Finding Stability in Transition
Deep breath in, deep breath out.
I keep reminding myself of this as I glance around at our deconstructed home. Boxes are currently surrounding me and my house looks as if a tornado hurled through it. These are the marks of transition. Chaos. Disorder. And new beginnings that can only come with an ending.
In just five short days my husband, little boy, and I will load a moving van and journey east towards Atlanta as we embark on a new adventure! After serving for five years at our local church, the Lord has called us to take a step of faith and walk into a new season of life. My precious husband has taken on a new position at the Winshape Foundation, specifically Winshape Camps, and we couldn’t be more excited! Our gaze is straightforward and our hearts are expectant as we move forward on this adventure God has been taking us on.
As we’ve began walking through this very brief and intense season of transition, the Lord has been opening my eyes to several aspects of His character; specifically, His stability when our world is unstable. I’m a creature of comfort. I thrive in a clean, put together home. I sleep better at night when the kitchen counters are wiped down and the laundry is folded. And yet, I’ve learned that those comforts in life are as fleeting as a spring flower that is here one day and gone tomorrow. This world will never offer the lasting comfort we long for.
Packing up our house has been a soul-scrubbing act of surrender. Each day I wake up to a long to-do list that needs to be done and a choice to make: Will I be consumed with worry and overwhelmed by my to-do list? Or will I be consumed by God’s grace and overwhelmed by His faithfulness? It’s a daily, moment-by-moment choice to choose surrender and trust, and yet it is always worth it. When the world is unstable, chaotic, and “out of our control,” we can trust in God’s steady, consistent, never-ending grace. He is our stability during times of transition.
And so, I can feel the tension in my soul:to worry or worship, to breathe deep breaths of trust or sigh breaths of stress.
It’s only God’s grace when we choose what is good and right and lean into His strength. Because ultimately, if the entire world crumbled in an instant, His Word would still stand, and His Word would still hold our hearts together in one piece. That is a fact we can cling to, always.
The greatest encouragement I want to offer you, my friend who is walking through a season of transition, is this: Don’t neglect reading your Bible just because your home is torn apart or your to-do list is long. Don’t put your feelings before the facts of God’s unfailing, unchanging Word. It is your lifeline, it is your stability, it is your comfort. No matter where you live, no matter how messy your home becomes, and no matter how you feel each morning — His Word will not disappoint or fail you. Your life may look different than you expected, and your worldly comforts may be gone for a season, but His Word will sustain you and give you exactly what you need each day.
Jesus Christ is your Stability in seasons of transition. Keep Him first, for He will not let your world crumble, nor will He allow these packing boxes to overwhelm you. As a matter of fact, He will give you more than you could ever hope for: peace.
Your sister in transition,
Gretchen
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