Transitioning

(Photo Credit: The Giant’s Causeway, Ireland)

If we live long enough we will face the task of transitioning.

This past week, after weeks of going back and forth discussing new housing options, Mom and I began our search for her new home.

Mom has come to the place in her life where she is considered “independent.” That is, according to Senior citizen terminology.

What does this mean?

Basically, that she does not require any assistance with her day-to-day living. Mom has been blessed with good health, with the exception of arthritis. And now she feels that she needs an environment where there are no steps, no yard maintenance, and cheaper monthly bills. While this sounds like an easy transition – pick your new home and move in –  there are obstacles.

I don’t mean the obstacles that involve cleaning out years of memorabilia or of selling a home, but the actual transition process. Talking about it is one thing, but doing it, well, that’s a horse of a different color, so to speak.

This past week I began looking through her eyes as well as through my own lens of mortality.

I put myself in her shoes.

While I see this transition as a positive experience for both of us, I feel that her reneging is her way of holding on to her and my dad’s past, even though he is no longer with us. I empathize with her hesitation. I don’t want to let go, either. I don’t want to let go of the familiarity that I feel every time I walk through the front door. I don’t want to forget the smell of her cooking that invades my senses the moment I step out of my car. I don’t want to go through a security door, or wait for her to “ring me in” before I can see her face-to-face. But, I do want her safe. I do want her in an environment where she will be surrounded by her peers. Folks who understand where she is coming from, because they were once in her situation, too. Folks who will welcome her into their way of life, show her the ropes, and make her glad that she chooses to be with them. I just want her to be happy. I want the very best for her, whatever that might entail.

Mom’s transition from here to there is irrelevant. But what is relevant is her mindset. She is the one who ultimately needs to be ready. She is the one who must accept the change that awaits her. And she is the one who, once she finds what she is looking for, will be glad and rejoice in her new home and her new lifestyle. I’m trying to be her encourager and help her to see that this transition is a good thing. That this transition can make all the difference in the world when it comes to how and where she chooses to spend the rest of her life.

 I believe that our decision to follow Christ is similar to the transition that my mother is facing. Mom knows and acknowledges that there is something better out there for her. Something that will give her the peace of mind she is looking for. Something that will help her to feel safe. Something that she will love and cherish more than what she has now. She just needs to take that first step of faith – that transitional step that will take her from where she is now and place her to where she needs to be.

I know this, and I truly believe that Mom does as well.

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Dear God,

Complacency is easy, too easy.

As your children we often settle for the low road where we constantly face obstacles that infringe on our happiness, instead of transitioning to the high road, which offers an over abundance, a life everlasting.

Today, I pray for my mother’s transition into a new home and a new life.

And,

 I pray, oh God, for those folks who long to transition away from a life of complacency. I pray that they find a new life with you.

Thank you, God, for allowing us to choose our transitional path.

 A life that has already been promised, according to 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Amen