transitions
Remember when you were learning how to write an essay in school? There was a structure for how to write the essay. After your first paragraph, you’d start the next with a transition word, phrase, or sentence. I recently read somewhere that transitions are like bridges connecting one idea to another or transitions can help the reader understand how all that is written works together. Can we view life transitions this way as well?
During one of my last therapy sessions, I talked to my therapist about the previous five years of my life: Finishing school, entering the workforce, going through the lockdown + the pandemic, moving across the country + going back to school, and now finishing school again. And those are just the broad categories of it all. Of course, many things were in between such as stress, grief/loss, anxiety due to decision-making, and more. And as someone who loves new things, even for me, it was still been a lot in a short amount of time
In one of my previous posts, P r e p a r e, I wrote about me realizing that I’m getting ready for what God has next for me. This time around, it seems that even in being prepared there was so much more that I couldn’t have prepared for until I was facing it. I couldn’t prepare for having to extend my Bachelor’s program, or living through a global pandemic, or losing loved ones, or all the random fees that come with moving, or the amount of stress/anxiousness I experienced in the last year of my Master’s program. Now that I’m on the other side, as I reflect more and more, I can see how all of it plays a role in where I am today. And one thing I can say remained constant in the midst of it all is who God is. A trait I love about God is his faithfulness. In my Heaven on Earth experiences, He is definitely there. In my “this is my hell on Earth”, He is with me in the fire, not meeting me with judgment, but meeting me exactly where I’m at, with love. Taking time to reflect, not only on my own but with the help of my therapist, has helped me to realize that 1) I will always be taken care of and 2) This is all so much bigger than me.
I will always be taken care of — At this point, I haven’t really said much at all on here about my school experience, but to let you in on how much it weighed on me: about a month before completion I wanted to quit. Like tears in my eyes, calling my parents at midnight only being able to say “I’m so tired” type QUIT. And one thing about me? I will face the challenges that come my way so just know that’s how down bad we were. But when I say I genuinely couldn’t have completed without God, my family, friends, and new people God placed in my life along the way? Just know when you see my little email signature and the letters behind my name, those are not just letters but a testimony. A reminder that God hears my cries and He literally carries me when I can’t move forward on my own anymore.
This is all so much bigger than me — If you’re a person who identifies as Christian, or maybe even just a lover of NBC’s Manifest, you’ll know Romans 8:28 (NLT) says this: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. At the beginning of my time in school and still questioning if I was doing the right thing. Imagine? I had already moved, paid for my tuition, enrolled in classes, and I was still wondering if I—hm, that could be a whole different post entirely. Anyways, I remember asking God to help me confirm I belong where I am. My advisor reached out to me and asked me to meet just for a first meeting/check-in. Our meeting ended up not being about academics at all. Instead, this meeting was an answer to what I had asked God for. My advisor spoke life into me in a way that encouraged me so much and I knew what he was saying was God’s confirmation because it was only our first time meeting. This was the beginning of God answering that very prayer more than once. Even conversations I had with clients confirmed in more ways than one that certain things from my past equipped me for what I was doing in the present and those present moments were going to help me in my future. My experiences were/are not just for me.
I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen next. While I have some vague ideas of what I’d like and what I know is supposed to be my next step (career-wise), other areas of my life have a question mark. And because I’m not currently working, I have so much time to think, and overthink, and think myself into anxiety. But after much reflection on my own and talks with God, I was able to leave my last therapy session with these truths to anchor myself in for this next season, and the next, and the next, and the ne- you get it:
“I am seen.
I am known.
I will be more than okay.”
Not only are these good reminders, but these are genuinely true about me. Not just some fun little sentences that sound good, but simple, yet effective words that reflect my life and will not change no matter what life throws my way. Truths that help me connect one part of my life to another. Truths that are anchored in Christ, my forever hope, who never changes and never fails.
If you are facing many transitions like me, my prayer for you is that you remember that God sees you (Genesis 16:13) He has gone before you (Deuteronomy 1:30), and He will make sure that you are okay (Matthew 6:25).
Much love,
Kumam 💛
What truths are you holding onto today? Comment below