We have been on a whirlwind of activity from getting our house sold, packing our stuff, saying good-bye, driving across the country in a 26 ft Penske Truck, celebrating Easter with over 12,000 people at our new church, adjusting to apartment life, starting new schools, and a hundred other little things. One thing that we have learned as we have unpacked things, stored things, and adjusted to a new life in a new culture is that in every transition it is important to know what to take with you. Many times in transition we want to throw everything away and start completely brand new, a fresh start without any of the past. Although that is an attractive thing to do, it usually isn’t the wisest. I believe that every step in life and every season we live there are things that we want to take with us – sometimes it is wisdom from bad experiences so that we do not relive the mistakes, sometimes it is taking useful things so that they can be maximized in a new situation, sometimes it is simply bringing things along because you don’t know how you will use it in the future.
Over the past week of living in Arizona we have learned that sunglasses have a whole new value and we are grateful for the 10 that we have in our car and our apartment so that we are never without one. We have learned to be grateful for crates to store clothes in because the bedrooms are too small for dressers. We have been appreciate of friends who have assisted us as we fix up odds and ends on the Kentucky house since we have left.
When looking at transitions in life, I encourage you to really examine what you are taking with you as you transition. When you transition friendships, make sure that you take with you the good things that you learned about you or that you grew in. When you transition schools or jobs, remember to be grateful as you bring with you the things that you have grown in. Be wise in what you take with you, take a risk in not shutting doors with people as you transition, but leave the possibility of continuing relationships and hints on how to build strong relationships in your next step. For those places you have been hurt, I encourage you to let Jesus show you what He wants you take with you — you may be surprised at the amount of quality things that He will invite you to bring with you. Transitions don’t have to be the death of something, most of the time they are meant to be the birth of something that was planted in your past. As we go through the post-Easter season, remember that Jesus death wasn’t the ending, it was just the beginning and if Peter had walked away from Jesus because of Peter’s past choices or Jesus had rejected Peter for his past choices, the world, the church may look entirely different.
So what do you need to bring with you in the next transition you face. Be wise. Take a risk. Build the next on the strengths of the past.