One of the most famous stories of transition in the Bible is that of Moses, who God calls to lead his people out of oppression into freedom. They leave Egypt quickly, yet it takes some 40 years in the wilderness for the Israelites to adjust to the transition and live into their identity as a free community. They grumble to God about missing Egypt and its food. They lose trust in God and worship idols. They disobey God’s commands. When they finally reach the promised land, Moses dies before entering it, and Joshua takes over leadership, signaling a new beginning. The transition is arduous, long, painful, and involves loss and grief.
Times of transition bring out the parts of ourselves we’d rather hide. We get anxious, rigid, weary, impatient and hopeless. Yet transition also breaks down our barriers and exposes our vulnerabilities, which opens us up to curiosity.
It’s tough to sit in the discomfort and disorientation of in-between times. Yet these times are also filled with possibility. In the unknowing, we leave space for God to act, and we pay attention to the ways God is already acting.
This message is excerpted from “Transitions open us up to newness” by Jennifer Hackbarth in the August 2023 Café online magazine.
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