Penny has been writing a series of blogs about change, and I have continued working on ones about ways we experience living in the Spirit. While riding the bus from Israel to Jordan, God put it on my heart to add my two cents (pun intended) to the series on change.
If you are like me, you have gone through seasons in your life that have had the potential to lead to profound change. As Penny has suggested, though, they can be terrifying. So what do we do when we find ourselves in one of those times? Hold on to the phrase “This too shall pass.”
I used to absolutely hate that phrase with a passion. If I was struggling with something difficult, or experiencing pain or loss, and someone offered those words, I did not take comfort in them. When walking through darkness, someone telling you that eventually you will find light does not make the darkness any less scary.
Now I have learned to embrace this phrase, no matter the season of life that I am in. It helps me to be present in the moment, another phrase that I used to find challenging because it seemed like empty words. Can you relate? How have those phrases affected you?
Think back to a time in life that you would consider a mountain top experience, a high point, something that would make your “Top 10 Best Times of My Life.” Maybe graduating from high school, getting married, having a child, getting promoted at work, etc. You can probably remember how amazing it felt. Now answer this…did that time continue indefinitely? Unfortunately, it likely did not. Which means that even the good times shall pass.
As humans, that can make us naturally be afraid to lean into the good times. We know that they will end, and leaning into them makes us vulnerable and susceptible to the pain of losing them. But the memories of those good times, those mountain top experiences, are what get us through the valleys in life.
That’s where being present in each moment comes in. When you are going through something amazing, step back for a minute and enjoy it. Don’t be so worried about making sure the decorations are perfect and every guest is taken care of that you forget to dance at your birthday. Instead of trying to get the perfect picture of every gift your child is opening, enjoy the delight on their face and laugh at how much they love the paper and box, and care nothing for what’s inside. Don’t stay up half the night cleaning your house so that it will be perfect when you have friends over, so that you are too exhausted to enjoy your time with them. Be present. In every moment.
When you find yourself in a valley, remembering that those moments also won’t last forever can help. They remind us that there truly is a light at the end of the tunnel. If they are paired with the memories of the good times to hold on to, and the knowledge that the light of the world is walking with you, the valleys become passable.
Also, be present in those moments as well. Sometimes it feels like we have to put blinders on, keep our head down, and just keep moving forward in order to get through the difficult moments. That is true at times. Other times, though, we need to pause long enough to breathe, look at our surroundings, and see how far we’ve come. Not to wallow in the hard times, but to see them for what they really are. To look for the ways God is moving in those times.
As we rise to the mountain tops and descend into the valleys, let’s encourage each other to be present in all of life’s ups and downs. Lean into the good and the bad, knowing “This too shall pass.” And never forget that this life, and the difficulty that comes with it, is not our final chapter. This life, too, shall pass and what awaits us on the other side is life eternal on the mountain top. Shalom!
