It’s our turn: our family is transitioning back to our home country in the next two months, and I find myself looking for success stories. Or at least transition stories that have threads of hope. There are a great many stories about how difficult, traumatic, and disorienting the repatriating process is — and for good reason.
It reminds me a bit of my pre-marriage perception – I had been given so many warnings about the difficulty of marriage that I truly thought, at twenty years old, why would I even bother? In the end, marriage has turned out to be an amazing gift. Hard? Yes, at times. But so worth it. It can be hard, and it is so good.
Could our transition be this way? I wonder if I am naïve. I have six books on repatriation and transition on my nightstand right now – several for me, and some for my children. My quiet moments find me absorbing all I can, asking how do we do this well? How do we prepare to leave? How do we say good goodbyes? How do we live peacefully in the chaos of transition? Is it possible for this to be good, in the end?
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When I look back over our previous seasons, I can say with full authenticity that they were hard, but God was with us. A season of deep grief was dark, but God was good to give light throughout it. A season of uncertainty was unsettling, but God was good to provide anchors for our family. A season of political unrest was scary, but God was good to give work for our hands and peace to our hearts.
These seasons were full of difficulties, but God’s goodness never failed. When we had the eyes to see and the space to process, we could see his hand, his good gifts, his light and presence with us.
These seasons were hard, and they were good.
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Yesterday, we listed nearly everything in our home for sale, to our neighbors and close community. It was a bit chaotic, even though we organized everything ahead of time, and the people stopping by our home overwhelmed our children. I felt the pressure rising inside my head and my heart.
For me, a good cry and a chat with my mom released that pressure, and hours later, I could see the blessing of choosing to share our belongings with our community. It was good that these pieces of our home and life here would go to become parts of others’ homes and lives, people we love and treasure. We are grateful to share what we’ve had, and we know God will continue to provide for us in a new home and new community.
It is hard, but it is good.
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I am looking forward in faith that this season of upcoming transition is going to be good. I am asking God, how are you going to show up for us? What will we look back on with hearts full of gratitude?
We know there will be a lot of hard moments, days, even weeks. We want to make ample space for all of that. And I want to make space for the good, the unexpected provisions and graces, the blossoming relationships and answers to unvoiced prayer.
My prayers for you are this: If you’ve had a season of transition that has been really challenging, I pray that you can see God’s hand in it still; that God will give you the eyes to see his presence with you and the graces in it. If you are transitioning soon, I pray you will join me in expectant hope that God will carry us with grace and strength; that the grief will not bury us, but that God will carry us.
It will be hard, but it will also be good.
