Consider This: Dealing with Life’s Transitions

When I was young, it seemed that everything was getting better. I graduated from high school, went to Bible college and felt more independent and grown up. I started making my own money and had some financial freedom. I got married, bought a house, and had kids. Life was not perfect, but it was moving in a good direction.

Lately, that has changed. Now, things feel like they are going the other direction. My kids have grown up, and the house is a little emptier. Friends I enjoyed hanging out with have moved away. People I looked up to and respected have passed on. My health, something I never gave a second thought to when I was younger, takes up more of my attention these days. People I care about are facing the prospect of selling their home and downsizing, or moving to an assisted living facility. Instead of gaining, it feels like life is going backwards.

One aid to navigate these transitions is the Book of Ecclesiastes. In it, elderly King Solomon looks back on his life and shares some recommendations that might help.

First, he suggests that we must find the good in each day. “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God” (Ecclesiastes 2:24). It is easy to focus on the negative, but every day has something in it to be grateful for.

Secondly, we need to hold things lightly and learn to accept change. Acknowledging that you cannot control everything is the first step to finding peace. “The righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands” (Ecclesiastes 9:1). Nothing is out of control. God is looking after us, but we are mostly passengers, not drivers.

Lastly, the transitions ought to prepare us for the life beyond this one. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Since nothing here is permanent, we must live with our eyes on our eternal home.

The only constant is change.

We need to deal with it well.

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