13. Transition Phase

This is what the LORD says: 

"Stand at the crossroads and look; 

ask for the ancient paths, 

ask where the good way is, and walk in it, 

and you will find rest for your souls. 

Jeremiah 6:16

A picture of a crossroads covered the entire page. One dirt walking path diverged into two in the middle of a forest, one headed uphill and around a bend, the other headed downhill and taking a sharp corner that you couldn’t see around. We as a group at Abide (a re-entry retreat for returning missionaries) were prompted to imagination identify where on the photo we were standing in our current phase of life. 

I found myself standing right on the spot where the two roads split. I had been traveling full speed ahead on one path in west Africa for five years, and now the future before me offered several paths, and I found myself stopped at the crossroads, out of breath from the sprint. 

That’s an unusual position for me. Stopped still, that is. Normally I would have seen the crossroads up ahead and already calculated a decision long before arriving. But this instruction in Jeremiah 6:16 gives a clear, specific command to stop. Stop at the crossroads. We can so easily become addicted to motion, and western culture teaches us to always keep momentum. But the Jesus way is different. Followers of Jesus are frequently commanded to intentionally lose momentum. Stop. Look. Rest. Breathe. Remember. Retreat. Sabbath. 

As I pictured myself standing there, I saw people passing me on the right and the left. Like the Scripture instructs, I asked them which was the best way. And like good fellow hikers, they told me which way they had been before and what to expect down each path, ultimately leaving me with the impression that both were beautiful in their own way, and that the choice was up to me. 

I asked for the ancient paths because that’s what the verse says to do. But what does that even mean? What are the ancient paths? As I meditated, the portion of Scripture that came to mind was Hebrews 11, a well known passage sometimes called the “Hall of Faith” because it lists many heroes of the Bible with examples of how they lived by faith. They are the faithful ones who have gone before us and showed by example how to walk the ancient paths of faith and endurance, of sacrifice and suffering, of promises and eternal perspective. Their specific life paths (circumstances) were all different and yet their faith was common. No matter what uncertainties, battles, or trials came their way, they responded in obedience to God because they trusted in the faithfulness of God to his promises and they believed in a heavenly home and a greater reward than this world has to offer.

And I saw once again that the path is less about which road I choose and more about how I walk it. 

For an entire hour, every person in the room shared their meditative thoughts and insights into this verse, the page-sized picture, and what its like to stand at a crossroads. I leaned in, hanging on every word. Such collective wisdom and understanding settled in the room, and I saw that I wasn’t standing at the crossroads alone after all. 

~~~~~

Later on in the week at the retreat, we discussed transition, comparing it to a tunnel - since it is both clostrophic and dark, yet the best and only route to the other side. Even when you can’t see the end, you trust that you are moving forward and avoiding large, impossible, or dangerous obstacles to arrive to a new unseen place. 

We also compared transition to a bridge, grounded on either side, yet suspended in uncertain air in the middle. We talked about each stage of crossing the bridge and all the emotions, thoughts, and responses you might have during those times. I couldn’t believe how someone else had already intelligently figured out and mapped out this process that I had been discovering as I went through it, thinking it was unique to me! Giving vocabulary to how I had been feeling put me at ease in knowing that I wasn’t so abnormal after all. 

It was in that session on transition tunnels and bridges that I made an important connection. As a labor and delivery nurse, I can’t help but be fascinated by the miraculous physiological process of birth. Sometimes, because I am passionate about what I do, I compare everything to birth and make connections between the birthing process and our own dealings with pain and spiritual formation. It’s no wonder the Bible uses labor and new birth analogies to express spiritual truths. 

There is a phase of labor that is medically called the “transition phase.” It occurs in the final stage of labor when the cervix dilates completely. This is the most intense phase of labor where the woman’s emotions intensify along with the pain of the contractions. Everything physiologically in her body is taking shape and preparing for delivery. It is during this phase that the woman and baby both require the most intensive monitoring and care. 

Isaiah 66:9 (NCV) says that God does not cause pain without allowing something new to be born. What a promise for when we face transition phases in our lives. Transition is not a time to check out or toughen up, but rather to tune in and monitor closely the state of our souls. Our emotions and stress will be intense. There will be change and with it pain. But it is the holy and sacred process that God is using to birth something new in us. 

In addition to the mother’s transition phase, the newborn baby also goes through a transition phase in the first few hours of life. He transitions to his own blood circulation apart from the mother’s placenta. The lungs transition from being fluid-filled to inflating with air. The eyes adjust to light and the skin to an external temperature. It’s miraculous, and again, it’s a tender and critical time of formation that requires thoughtful monitoring and attention. 

I love to picture the Father holding us like newborn babies during our times of transition. We are helpless, and he is tender. We are new, and he is knowing. He swaddles us, holds us securely, and keeps his eyes fixed on us to attend to our needs as we transition. 

Don’t rush the transition phase. Monitor your soul and take care of it. Miraculous things are happening. Important formation is taking place for who we are becoming. Something new is being born.