Mental and Spiritual Health (MASH) Minute

Transitions…

In this moment so many of us find ourselves in a variety of transitions. There are predictable transitions, such as the changing of the seasons or the new school year. Then there are the uncommon transitions of life; a transition in health, a transition on the job, a loss, or a transition in a relationship. Most of us don’t like transitions. We humans are programmed to prefer what is consistent and predictable, even in the times when that predictability has become less than ideal. Sometimes the anticipated anxiety of transition feels like the greater of two possible evils when the alternative is the old familiar consistency.

Still, the winds will blow, the passage of time will proceed, and life will change. Even in the traditional space of our church communities, transition bumps and chafes against what we try to hold dear and close. Within those sacred spaces, transition might even feel like it threatens our greatest comfort.

Dare we take a moment to stare into the possibility of change….to stare not in fear, but in trust (and if we’re even bold, trust mixed in with a little hope). The walk of faith living our human existence will lead us through many twists and turns. Do we have the courage to trust and open our eyes like those followers on a lonely stretch of road walking toward Emmaus? If so (like them), we might find that within the unsettling discomfort of transition is sometimes found the greatest of possibilities. That paradox of transition and unknown possibility is that it points to the very essence of God’s now and not yet, inaugurated that first Easter morning.

What transitions are pulling at your heart right now? Where might the Spirit be moving you through what is stirred up toward the abundance of God’s desire and love for you? Transitions abound and yet you do not walk alone. May the Spirit guide your feet and still your anxious heart. May you feel the Spirit’s presence in the midst of your transitions.

The Rev. Gregory M. Wilson, LCSW