We were born for transitions. Even with our natural bodies, we go through physical and emotional transitions. We go from infants to toddlers/children, then to adolescents/teens, and on to young adults, then to middle-aged adults and senior citizens. All these phases of life carry their set of challenges, their unique identifying marks, and their special moments, and each phase should be cherished.
In our infant phases of life, we gain. The umbilical cord is cut and for the first time, we grow outside of our mothers’ wombs. We transition from being dependent on the inside to being dependent on the outside. We grow hair. We get our first set of teeth. We crawl and we start being nourished outside of the belly. Our vision and hearing start their acclimation stages to the outside world. We say our first syllables and on we go.
As toddlers, we become a bit more independent. Our appetites start growing, our taste buds start getting more defined and we move more. We take our first steps and fear tries to creep in but the arms of our parents are there to assure us that we will be alright even if we fall.
As children, we lose to gain. We lose our first set of teeth to grow the next set of teeth. We lose some attention because now we can tie our own shoes and brush our own teeth, so we become a bit more independent to a small degree. We get to exercise and experience a little freedom. Sometimes we put the “pedal to the floor” a little bit, to see how far we could go with our freedom; like pouting and putting the candy bar in the shopping cart anyway despite having heard an adamant no from our parents. Healthy discipline is vital at this stage. Unchecked temper tantrums as children can lead to emotionally wrecked adults.
As adolescents/teens, we are trying to find our true identities. For young males, their voices start to change and so do their interests. They begin to worry about how they appear to their peers. They think about manhood and their hearts yearn for a father. For young girls, their bodies begin to take on curves and they question their beauty based upon what they see on the outside instead of the beauty on the inside. They begin to search for authentic validation. Let me pause right here, these are paramount years that require a mountain of love, affirmation and confirmation from parents to children.
As young adults, we think we got things under control. This is where we have to admit our mistakes and allow those experiences to mature us and cause us to reach out to others for help as we navigate through this journey called life. None of us would be where we are today without a forerunner, someone willing to blaze a trail so that life could be a bit easier for us.
As middle-aged adults, we look back and prayerfully we have the grace to go on, to dream again, and to find ourselves in a position to help others coming behind us to achieve greater accomplishments in life. At this stage, we mustn't let a road of regret stunt us from assisting somebody else in making progress, even if that somebody else is not our biological child. We should be mature enough at this phase to know money, cars, houses, a job title, or any other material thing or position does not dictate or define who we are. What we have been blessed to receive let us be a blessing and help others.
As senior citizens, we should realize, that life is a gift. At this stage, hopefully, we can look back and see our lives have been fulfilling and for the most part with great joy. Hopefully, we will have established some solid, healthy relationships that are still thriving; we still have our health and our children arise and call us blessed.
If God has positioned us to still have spouses, let us cherish those moments with them. However, should widowhood be our status in life, bless God for the chance to have been espoused? And as we move forward toward the end of our journeys in our mortal bodies, let us leave a legacy and pass on the gems we have learned in life.
See, we were born for transitions!
Some nuggets from my e-book on Amazon
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