Transitions are a part of life. In a fast-paced culture, it can even seem like that’s the only way of life. Even things that we may have thought of as unchanging have changed: landscapes, borders, leadership, ways of life over time.
For a year, I volunteered at a retreat center where transitions were the fabric of daily life. Every day we said hellos and goodbyes as people came and went. An important component of each person’s job in that ministry setting was to regularly update the “turnover file,” a description of everything someone needs to know to do your job – because each of us knew that everyone’s position was temporary. Even when practicing transition daily, it can feel like too much sometimes.
God promises: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” Isaiah 43:2.
We are assured of God’s presence through all of life’s changes, especially when those changes feel overwhelming.
This message is excerpted from “For everything there is a season” by Joy McDonald Coltvet from the October 2017 Café online magazine.
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