Devotional 1 - Transitions

The first transition that I took to heart in the Bible is Abram’s transition.

Genesis 12:1 “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.””

I remember reading that and thinking first he had to leave his country, then leave his fellow friends and people, and also his relatives. How much of that describes us TCKs. Many times we did not have a choice in the manner of leaving everything. Some of us left the States at an early age and it was harder for us to leave the country we grew up in and returning to the States or maybe it is moving from the first country you were stationed in to a new one right in the middle of your school year. All these transitions no matter if you agreed or disagreed with the move affect us.  Another TCK friend once told me the only circle that we can control is our choices and reactions. Everything else is out of our control. Still even when there is so much in our lives that we cannot control it still affects us deeply. And dealing with that can be challenging and hard to navigate.

When my parents decided to switch countries I was an adult and had my own job and been in the states for a few years already. But I remember it hurt. Ecuador, I considered that home and the people I saw as family I wouldn’t see as much unless intentionally. I didn’t realize it at the time that my identity had been largely part of my parent’s job in Ecuador.  Finding our identity whether in the country, job, and material things never is the answer. We find it in Christ. Some days it is an hourly occurrence or a daily one. Still it is good to remember that in our transitions God is still there He doesn’t always show the whole path, most likely one step at a time, but transitions make us stronger and make us who God wants us to be. I pray that we take even the most difficult moves and treat them as a way to enhance your life resume. Remember that nothing that happens is in vain. God always finds ways to turn the bad around into good maybe for your benefit and for others too.