Last January, I wrote a paper on life transitions. William Bridges is an expert on transitions who has been a part of a few transitions in his own life. He talks about three stages of any transition. Transitions include an ending, an in between phase, and a new beginning. These stages might seem obvious, but many people go through change in their lives and never make the transition that must go along with any change. Each stage is crucial for someone to successfully traverse change.
The questions people seem to be asking Holly and me most are "So, are you settling in? How's the transition going? How are you doing?" Without knowing it, people are concerned and asking most about our transition. They ask us this question over and over again because transition is vital and we all struggle with it.
We did a great job of ending in Texas. We said all of the good-byes to friends and family. We're grateful to Littleton for the time they gave us to recover from graduate school, say our goodbyes, and make the first stage of our transition successful. Now, our ending doesn't mean we don't miss Texas. Right now, we don't miss the weather, but parts of us miss the people we love so much.
I hope we spent enough time in that in between phase. The neutral zone is important. It's so important to reflect on the past and set new goals for the next stage of life. Having two months in Dallas with our families allowed us time to reflect on what the future might hold. We left for Denver with so much excitement about what God might have waiting for us to do in Colorado.
And now we are finishing that transition in our new beginning. We couldn't have asked for more really. We have had an incredible welcome to Denver. It seems like every night of the week we are meeting new people who want to get to know us. We couldn't be happier with our new church family and friends.
The transition is coming to a close. We will still deal with the affect of our move for years to come, but we are doing well. We are grateful for the past and excited about the future. And there's not a better place to be than that.
The only transition we are struggling with most is our sports teams. I rooted for the Broncos last night, but Dallas still holds our hearts if Denver were to ever face the Cowboys in a Super Bowl. Some would say that's poor transition, but at least we're loyal, right?
2 comments:
stay loyal my friend. never give in. i expect nothing less.
I enjoyed reading this post because it got me thinking about my family's transition to Costa Rica. Some of the sections of our transitions have been too short, some too long, while others (at least from our perspective) have been just right. In hindsight, however, the timing has been perfectly orchestrated by God.
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