Embracing Transitions

These mornings between Christmas and New Years Day have been very interesting. Some mornings are really cold, some warm as Spring. Some are overcast, while others so clear and vividly blue that the sky seems to be in technicolor. Much like the year itself, much like life itself, I never quite seem to know what to expect.

This image captured my attention in a profound way. The starkness of the dormant Pecan tree against the breathtakingly beautiful blue sky seemed to speak to me. Life is never one thing; it is always, somehow, moving in that space between. The harshness of winter and the promise of spring. The passing of one year and the approach of another. Growing into the prime of life and growing old. Times of great joy and the clouds of suffering. Periods of strong faith and moments of doubt.

The problem comes when we forget this truth and see only one side of life as all there is, or at least as all there should be. Then we find ourselves easy prey to either despair in the hard days or arrogance and ingratitude in charmed times. Why is it so hard to embrace the beauty of the contrasts? Why is it such a challenge to be at peace through the transitions?

The apostle shared these interesting words:

“For I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

As the New Year transitions from the old, I think I will commit anew to embracing all the transitions within myself and my own life. I will seek the beauty in each one, seeing the stark contrasts as proof of life’s gift. I am blessed to know what it is to have plenty, but I have also been blessed in my times of need. In some way I am always both, for both make up this frustrating, exciting, challenging and beautiful life I love. I know this from experience now long, I find God in all the transitions. Or, more accurately, God always seems to find me.

Peace.