31 May Home Again

The definition of transition is a process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.  Words used to describe a transition are passage, change and crossing.  We transition from school to summer.  For most, it’s a welcomed and easy move but some transitions don’t come as easily as others.

I was with my husband the other day organizing my daughter’s room.  We were moving some of her belongings that we brought back with us after her college graduation.  She has way more “stuff” now than when she started her freshman year!  As we were moving things around, my husband said, “this room has been through a lot of transitions.”  I thought about what he said and remembered how that room had housed all of our children at one time or another.  The walls have seen several layers of paint, all different colors, and the room has been home to several sets of furniture.

This room, full of memories, will still be my daughter’s room this summer, probably for the last time.  She will soon get a place of her own.  It’s hard to think about this being our last summer all together as a family.  We won’t all be under the same roof anymore.  That season of life was precious and sweet but it’s coming to an end.

It seems like yesterday I was telling my husband, “I am going to change my name if I hear “Mama, Mama, Mama” one more time!”  Now I look back on those days and wonder if I treasured them as much as could have.  Did I listen to my children and laugh enough?

Parenting is full of transitions:

Cradle to crib,

Crib to bed,

Crawling to walking,

Running to talking,

Talking to driving,

High school to college.

All of these transitions include hundreds of unseen decisions and changes.  My husband and I will have to transition back to having our daughter in the home.  She will have to transition too.  She is leaving her home of four years, dear friends, and a season of learning from brilliant doctors and professors.  She’s concerned about transitioning into the “real world.”   As she is adjusting to this new reality, I am adjusting to the fact that this is more than likely the last time she will live with us.

No matter the season of life, we are all transitioning and it’s not always easy.  The college years are full of freedoms and independence grows.  Coming home is no small adjustment for the child or her parents.  Sending your child to first grade or letting him ride his bike up and down the street are also transitions.  Each represents a season of growth and change.

Honestly, I am just taking each day as it comes.  I never saw myself here, and yet, here I am.  The “what ifs” and “if onlys” I place at the throne of God knowing that is the best place for those thoughts.   I am grieving the end of something, but that’s only part of the truth.  God ordains our days and I must realize that, yes, I am old enough for this to be happening and that this is part of God’s plan.  So while I allow myself to grieve for a time, I also must move… move forward, move closer to the Lord, move into this new season of life with hope and excitement about what God has in store.

Where is God calling you to embrace change and move through it?  His plans are always better than our plans.