My life has been full of so much transition. Living overseas has invited a rhythm of moving in and out of seasons more than I think I ever anticipated. Navigating through visas to stay in a country not your own, receiving community to live alongside you, and watching them go sooner than either of you anticipated, making moves that are better for the health of your family. These are just a few ways in which you can find yourself navigating through a transition period yet again.
In our early years in India we kept anticipating closing those unpredictable and groundless chapters. We said to ourselves, “it will be easier to have consistency with stillness and dedication to exercise once things settle down”. But we kept finding that things never settled down. We moved from one transition to the next all the while feeling unanchored.
After awhile we sensed that God was calling us to explore what thriving in transitions looked like , and learning to wait on him in transitions instead of hoping they would pass quickly so we could feel more “normal” and “in control”.
No sooner than we embraced this idea that God indeed had something for us in the waiting, that it wasn’t idle time, than he gave us another transition to press into waiting and find him in it. We returned back to the states to change our visas and they were denied. Two months turned into 9 months and we fought against the feeling of being left floating out to sea, uncertain of the future.
Time and time again as we sat with God we released these feelings and practiced keeping our hands open, reminding ourselves that though this season was not in our plans, He was not surprised by it. We practiced asking, with our hands still open, “what do you have for us in this wait?” And we watched as he created space in our lives to rest, and to exercise, to build back in healthy habits that would anchor us in the waiting. We learned to say “I trust you”, and then an hour or two later when we felt ourselves longing to be grounded again or moving forward in our creativity, pioneering and desire to do, opening our hands again and saying , “ I trust you, I trust you, I trust you.”
How has waiting been for you? Does it come with a sense of anxiety? Have you ever asked in the waiting, “God what unexpected gift do you have for me in this?”