Lessons From Those Tricky Transitions

This month, Carrie, Amy, and I have been discussing what is most prevalent in our lives – what has been weighing on our hearts, minds, souls, bank accounts, relationships, etc.

In my episode last week, Tricky Transitions, I talked about the transitions my family is going through. Honestly, there are so many that I have been overwhelmed both mentally and emotionally.

This overwhelm isn’t coming from a place of simple change either. I know some people don’t like changes (my son with disabilities being one of them). However, this goes beyond change into feeling like absolute chaos.

I have learned over the years to accept that I am only one person, and my best will have to be good enough.

Over this past summer, I have taken away a few lessons I will carry forward.

AVOIDANCE IS NOT ALWAYS NEGATIVE​
Temporarily avoiding a problem is sometimes a good thing. Sometimes, it’s okay to step back from the issue and say, “I’ll deal with that later.” My youngest son, T.J., graduated from high school in May. I’ve been through many milestones where his peers moved on without him. This fall was going to be no different. His friends would leave for college in August, so our family planned a fantastic trip out west. We weren’t running away from anything. TJ will still be lonely at times. However, by giving the entire family something to look forward to, we softened the sting of that change.

SOMETIMES “GOOD ENOUGH” IS MORE THAN GOOD ENOUGH​
Only some things have to be done to 100%. It is more than possible that my energy needs to be reserved for other tasks. Perhaps getting it done is all that needs to be done. Perfect but not complete is always worse than average work that’s completed.

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES SARA A DULL GIRL​
Remember to play. Yes, PLAY! You can’t do it all. No, you can’t! Trust me. Even if you can do it all, it doesn’t all need to be done right now! No, it doesn’t! Trust me. I have learned that my constant anxiousness surrounding tasks is usually (1) my lack of planning, (2) I’ve been avoiding it because I just don’t want to do it, or (3) I’ve taken too much on and am not allowing myself room to relax, rest, and play.

PRAYER WORKS​
Pray, pray, and pray some more. Prayer won’t eliminate the task, but knowing your Savior is listening and working in your favor is crucial. Plus, as Carrie said in her episode this month, don’t forget to ask, “Where do you see Jesus?” It was a beautiful reminder to me that I often keep Jesus away from my to-do list. I need to invite him into the chaos because he is the only one who can calm the storms of my life.

How do you handle major transitions? I would love to know how you handle those life milestones that can be overwhelming mentally and emotionally.