You know how when a plane lands, it’s so jarring for that one second? And you know how the brakes make you feel like you’re going to fly forward? And you know how you’re bracing until all of a sudden, it all feels smooth and right again? Well, transition periods are always like this. My friend reminded me today to expect all the disorientation of my youngest starting college and me starting a fresh semester. When we expect it, we prepare differently. We hold tight to people around you. We take deep breaths. We find the beauty in uncertainty and know that things will settle.
The rumble strips on a highway that slow us down in order to know some kind of transitional period is here signal a time of slowing down, introspection, thinking about new goals, and caring for our souls. It’s a time for reconnecting with God in a new way. I felt this when I got married. I wondered how I would relate to God differently. I felt this when I had my daughters, when we moved from Michigan to Pennsylvania, when I started my teaching career, and again when I started my writing and speaking life. We change; God stays the same. And God is already in our future and stands ready to welcome us into all the blessings He’s prepared.