Transitions and Trees
7:00 AM
Transitioning to married life has been easier than I ever thought it could be. That is mostly due to marrying the godliest man I’ve met who also already happened to be my best friend. The hardest transition has been going from being a lifelong country girl, half an hour from the closest store to being dropped into the middle of one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation (and with two grocery stores five minutes away).
This afternoon, I sat down to write outside, enjoying the wind and building clouds. But outside, the noise of the traffic distracted and unsettled me. I had to move back inside and take a few minutes of listening to gentle music before I could attempt again. I decided I would start with a blog post.
Yet, even as I acknowledge how difficult the transplanting has been, I’m looking at one of the gifts God gave me that I didn’t even ask for.
Trees.
Out of every window I can open in my apartment, there are big, beautiful trees. Back in August, when I opened the windows as Scott showed me around the apartment the first time I nearly cried for joy. Trees out of every window while most of the apartments in the complex look out at the other buildings.
As I look at them, I feel a little more at home. It’s like God places a little bit of the beloved forest from home right here out my window so could watch them in the wind and be inspired to write.
Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to share with you some glimpses into my life now that I’m married including a tour of the apartment, what the biggest challenges were for the wedding, and lots of pictures. But today, today I just wanted to share with you about transitions and trees.
Maybe you are going through a time of transition yourself, one where you’re having to give up a lot of things that you love in order to accomplish a goal, reach for a dream, and/or follow Jesus. What you are gaining might not be as fun as a new husband, or with as clear-cut goals as establishing a marriage. In fact, many transitions come with a lot of giving up without clear benefits.
I’ve been there before.
But today, lets each of us look around and see the gifts that God has placed in our paths. Perhaps it’s the trees, perhaps it’s a hot cup of tea, maybe it’s the person next to you, or maybe it’s the information you need to take a step forward.
Look for the gifts in the midst of transition.
6 comments
This is so beautiful. Thank you for sharing. <3 And I'm so glad you have those trees to soften the transition to living in a city, and that your new life together with Scott is going so well! So happy for you! ^_^
ReplyDelete<3 <3
DeleteLooking forward to your next posts, and I'm glad you're back. Thank you, too, for the encouragement here! I'm so thankful the Lord is with us, no matter what changes and challenges we face as we go through life!
ReplyDeleteAmen!
DeleteThank you Sarah for sharing these thoughts. God Bless.
ReplyDeleteMarion and Marilyn
"...many transitions come with a lot of giving up without clear benefits.
ReplyDeleteBut today, lets each of us look around and see the gifts that God has placed in our paths. Perhaps it’s the trees, perhaps it’s a hot cup of tea, maybe it’s the person next to you, or maybe it’s the information you need to take a step forward.
Look for the gifts in the midst of transition."
So true! I've had transitions in my life too (mostly involving moving several times to different cities/counties, at one point leaving my home state). And yet God brought blessings to us and taught us to recognize them. Thank you for sharing this; it's really blessed me. And congratulations on getting married! I hope God richly blesses your future together! :)