What my grandmother understood through her decades of life was change is inevitable. I am in a present moment of living inevitable change. Our son began college in August. He lives almost seven hours away from home. Life looks different than it did a few months ago. Remembering my grandmother’s words provides me more comfort now than when I was younger. I am also remembering how God shows up and offers consolations as we let go, adjust to the in-between, and receive new life.
Consolations of Letting Go
God is with us in the letting go. We often think that sadness or sorrow is not an experience of consolation. At the core, consolation is a movement toward God. Desolation is a movement away from God. Our experience of release or surrender can be holy ground that draws us closer to God. Tears cried out to God move us closer. Prayers of help to let go engage God. Naming our feelings of sadness, fear, and worry brings us toward God. Accepting kind words or actions from others as we let go is one of the ways God moves in our lives. Receiving the grace we need to surrender is a movement toward God. Desolation arises when we attempt to let go on our own.
Consolations of Waiting in the In-Between
God is with us as we live the in-between. In a season of change, an ending occurs. This ending creates a liminal space as we find ourselves standing between what was and what will be. God’s gifts of consolation can show up in all kinds of ways. Our prayers for answers and help invite God to wait with us. The Holy Spirit illuminates the path into what will be so that we can be confident in knowing the next right steps. We might find Jesus helping us name both the sorrow and the joy we feel. Desolation arises when we try to push ahead of God or wait alone.
Consolations of Receiving New Life
God is with us as new life is revealed. Signs of new life often appear long before we understand fully what this new season means. God’s consolation shows up as our eyes are opened to see possibility. We draw closer to God as we offer prayers of thanksgiving and praise. God helps us see the grace we need for the new season we are living. Desolation may arise when we step into new life without waiting for God’s guidance and direction.
I continue to remind myself of the consolations God offers in this season of change. I remember that God is with me when tears fill my eyes as I miss our son. I remember God is with me as I offer prayers to let go and surrender my son into God’s care. God is with us as our family shifts to the new dynamic in our home. Consolation is evident as I hear the joy in my son’s voice and see it in his eyes when we speak to him.
My grandmother was right. One of the things we can count on in life is change. I now better understand why she would cackle with laughter when she said it. She knew the joy of God being right there with her in the seasons of change. And I believe what she understood too.