Happy first day of fall! Fall is my favorite season, probably because my birthday is in October, but I enjoy so many things about it. Here in Arizona we don’t have the same type of fall as most other places because it’s still pretty warm, but I can still sense that change is in the air. The mornings and evenings are cooler and the sun is starting to rise later and set earlier.  

I think we seem to love the change of seasons because it’s predictable safe change. We know what to expect. We’re prepared because we’ve been through it before.

But what about changes that are unfamiliar and unexpected? Those aren’t as fun or easy to adjust to, right?  

Last week I was chatting with some sweet ladies at a speaking engagement about life changes and how change isn’t always easy. Even when it’s good change, like getting married, having a baby or retirement, there’s still a period of transition and adjustment. It can take a while for the new normal to set in.  

When we find ourselves in transition, it’s easy to focus on the negative aspects. It’s easy to get impatient and want to rush the process. But that’s what the changing of seasons is, a process. Processes take time to be completed.  

Lately I’ve been focusing on James 1:2-5, as I’ve been in a season of transition and adjustment myself. It says, “Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds, knowing that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” 

These verses remind us that we can be joyful during change, trials and hard times. We may not feel like it, but we can choose it. We don’t have to be thankful for the hard times, but we can be thankful and joyful through them.  

These words also remind us that even when life changes are difficult, God is using them to mature and work through us. This helps me to see changes and trials as opportunities for growth. Knowing that we can ask God for wisdom is comforting and reassuring, especially when change makes things seem uncertain.  

Friend, if you’re in a season of transition right now, trust God during the process. Hold on to your joy and His peace that passes all understanding. Trust that He is working in and through you to make you more like Jesus. Be patient with yourself and your circumstances. Focus on the blessings of your current season or transition period, we can identify them when we slow down and take notice of them. Keeping asking God for wisdom, He’s eager to give it. He loves you so!