Spring has hit Upstate New York. At least for this week it has, you never know with Rochester! Over the weekend, I saw happy people riding their bikes or walking with an iced drink in one hand, and their dog on a leash in the other. It’s the kind of weather that makes you sing with the birds or talk to the trees.

The changing season is a distinct transition, but have you ever experienced a transition period where you don’t notice the shift until you’re knee-deep in confusing emotions? We miss naming the change because it either, happens so fast, it’s too overwhelming to recognize, or we never learned how to name it in the first place. When abrupt or obscure change happens, it can feel harder to understand our feelings. Sometimes we think we’re going crazy, but in reality, we are experiencing change.

A good example of this, is the ambiguity parents experience right after having a baby. The newborn phase is special and exciting, but it’s also very hard, emotional, and draining. It’s all the beautiful and all the ugly things clumped together. Hello, transition!

In the book Stuck! Navigating Life and Leadership Transitions, Terry B. Walling describes transition periods as the “in between time”. It’s when you're not where you used to be, but also not where you need to be. It’s the dash (—) between point A and point B. That (—) carries so much more meaning than just a line, so I like to call transition the “foggy, emotional, uncomfortable, restless” time! Transition is all those things and more.

SIDE BAR \\ I think someone should redesign that (—) to look more like a hundred different arrows going in separate directions. There’s so much more happening between those years, and a “dash” just isn’t enough. Am I right?! //END SIDE BAR.

This gradual journey can feel like you’re walking on a treadmill or even falling backwards down a slide. Depending on what you’re experiencing, it can feel exciting and hopeful, or unbearable and long.

3 Ways to Navigate Transition Well

I’ve experienced a lot of transitions in my life. From living in Asia, to culture shock, to countless job changes, to becoming a mother. There was even a time when I worked as a transition coach where I helped people notice change and move forward. Because of what I’ve seen, I’ve identified three ways to help you embrace transition and navigate change.

01. Name the Transition

Say it with me, “I’m going through a transition!.” Transitions can be exciting and new, while others can be especially painful. Whatever the change may be, naming it can bring a bit of clarity and relief even if it's just to say, “This change is hard!” Those words may be obvious in the beginning, but we need a reminder in the middle of all the chaos as well.

Here’s a list of some examples to help you name your transition:

It's also helpful to know that you WILL make it through! Sometimes it feels like the transition will last forever, but that's just evidence of forward movement. Forward movement doesn’t have to look like you’re on hyper-drive. A lot of times it looks like waiting and taking the small steps God is asking you to take, like learning to rest! So name your season and keep the faith. You’re doing exactly what you need to be doing.

“You’re not stuck! You’re in transition!” - Terry B. Walling

02. Grieve the Losses

Transition means saying goodbye and letting go of who you were or what you had. In the midst of so much gain, there’s great loss too. Being in limbo seems to surface more than we expect, because you want to be where you’re supposed to be. We not only have to cope with the new and “not-yet”, but we have to grieve the losses too. This can mean grieving your independence when you start school, a job, or become a new parent. There could be grief amidst an exciting move too. Henri Nouwen says, grief and joy can co-exist. That thought alone can bring so much grace to a trying season. Allow the emotions you feel, happy or sad, to speak and indicate what your heart needs. Sometimes your heart just needs to grieve.

03. Keep Creating

Trust me, I know how hard it is to stay motivated in creative works. It feels easier to neglect my ability to make things when walking through transition. There are times when my mind or body just needs to rest or zone-out. While rest is necessary, creativity is just as valuable, especially when things are changing. The act of creating things on a regular basis, does not only help us move forward, but it allows us to work with it, rather than against it.

Transitions are a result of something new coming, and being creative meets our unmet desires in a practical and tangible way. When we create things it nurtures the part of us that needs eternal connection with our Creator. Creativity is one way to keep connection with God at the forefront. Making things with our hands, minds, and hearts helps us stay present and celebrate wins on a daily basis, especially when life feels slow, gradual, and long.

“When we create things, it nurtures the part of us that needs eternal connection with our Creator.”

Creativity isn’t just about writing poetry, painting on a canvas, or throwing clay on a pottery wheel. Creating means taking nothing and making it into something OR even repurposing something into a new thing!

PAUSE. What creative outlets are you drawn to that express who you are?

Whatever interests you, weather it be fashion, food, nature, or butterflies, there is always space within your interests to make something new.

Transitions bring a lot of unexpected things with it, and we won’t always have the capacity to put our hands to work. Yet, fresh perspective and constant connection to God helps us reset and discover the value behind change.

You’ll be tempted to isolate, fight, or escape, but keep connecting with God and people who are for you. To quote Walling one last time, “We want out of this time, but God wants in!.” If you’re able to walk through a transition with open hands and receive all that God has to offer, there’s a good chance you’ll come out with greater wisdom. God uses change to take us out of our old ways, into something new. This is God’s mercy working in our lives. He has new, reimagined things in store for you.

“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.”

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)