Transitions.

I normally do not look forward to them. I am a ‘comfort zone’ kind of person. Sometimes, it’s much easer to handle what I know, rather than facing the unknown, without a plan.

But God calls us to follow Him, which also requires us, many times, to leave our comfort zones behind.

The New Testament is filled with stories of face-to-face contacts with Jesus. And with each person He comes across, He begins with one simple statement.

Follow me.

To Peter and Andrew, as they cast their nets into the Sea of Galilee, he called to them.

To James and John, in a nearby boat with their father, he called to them.

To Matthew, the Tax Collector, he asked the same question.

To the rich, young ruler, who appeared to have everything, but still longed for eternal life, Jesus added this. “Sell everything you own, and then follow me.”

Follow me.

It is the question that starts it all; it is also the answer. It is the beginning of the relationship, as well as the ending.

Jesus healed many people. “Go, and share the news,” he told them, as they sought a way to repay Him, in a beautiful blend of too-good-to-be-true disbelief and awe.

Go.

To the woman at the well, after her accusers had abandoned their plight to publicly shame her, Jesus told her, “Go, and sin no more.”

To the leper, after He was completely cleansed, Jesus told him to go.

To the centurion, who begged for healing for his servant back home, Jesus commanded him to go.

Sometimes, He said it like this.

Come.

To the children, clamoring for His attention, much to the chagrin of his disciples, He said, “come to me.”

To Peter, over the storm-ravaged waters, he said, “come to me.”

Follow me. Go. Come.

None of these allow us to stay where we are. They require movement, obedience, and trust. They require action, long before there is a plan to go with it.

Could it be that sometimes, God requires us to act, long before He reveals His plan to us?

I have come to believe that this is entirely true. To land in a new place, a better place where we can stand stronger, it requires to us to take leaps of faith.

And, though these transitions from one place to another petrify me, they also inspire me. As I have learned to embrace my wilderness periods, the times I feel as if I am wandering, I have also learned to keep looking up, for it is there that I always find my answers.

In the past two and a half weeks, I have done the following:

Driven 2500 miles.
Worked 37 hours, my final ones at a job I truly loved in Michigan.
Resigned from numerous volunteer and/or leadership positions, also in Michigan.
Stopped to rest at various truck stops  in 5 different states.
Gave my sister 24-hours-notice that we might be on the way to live with her for a while. She said ‘yes.’ thank goodness.
Boxed up the china and wall hangings from my former home, to await news of the location of their new home.
Enrolled my daughter in a new school for her senior year of high school.
Forced my diva-like dog to get along with his new roommate, my sister’s aggressive and not-nearly-as-cute-as- she-thinks Boston Terrier puppy.
Notified our apartment complex management in Michigan that we would be moving out, just as soon as the date is confirmed for my husband’s second job transfer in 3 years.
Attended a Women of Faith conference in Indianapolis that allowed me to worship, and more importantly, reminded me of all the promises of Jesus that still ring true, no matter where I happen to live.
Stayed in a motel that I’m sure I’ve seen in a crime scene on America’s Most Wanted, where the internet only worked when strange men stood outside my window and talked loudly.
Received a diagnosis from my mechanic that our rickety minivan, with it’s 12 years and 223,000 miles of experience, is on it’s last legs, so to speak.

It would be easy to be overwhelmed to the point of panic at this moment. But I can’t. I simply cannot.

Because with all of those hours on the road, I constantly asked God what He is up to, and He showed me this–sunsets and sunrises in five different states.  (Click on the pictures below that I captured with my cell phone camera as I drove, and please pardon the dirty windshield.)

And with that, He reminded me that it is during the transitions from night to day, from storms to calm, and even from Michigan to Tennessee, that His power is truly revealed.

And the same God who can do this on a daily basis is the One who holds my transitions in His hands.

And the miracle of it all is that had I not followed Him along this journey, I would have never seen all that He wanted to show me; His repeated promise that I will never have to walk in darkness, as long as I continue to follow Him.

John 8:12 – When Jesus spoke again to his people, he said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. 
 

Tags: Following Jesus, journey, sunrise, sunset, travels, women of faith conference