You know the feeling as a military wife.  The orders come (or at least you get wind of them, whether the actual papers arrive or not), the packers get scheduled, and you begin the sorting process of what to send with the movers and what to transport yourself.  It’s moving time – again.

Once again, we are faced with a move in my family.  Except, this time, I am not packing the boxes, scouring the internet for information on a new city, or wondering how I will ever get everything ready before the movers arrive.  This time, my son and his wife are moving.

So everything should feel different than when we move, right?  At the end of August, I will lay my head down in the same room, prepare my daughter to attend the same school this fall and know exactly where my coffee pot will be when I come downstairs in the morning.  But, instead of knowing my son and his wife are 30 minutes away, they will be 3000 miles away.  And suddenly I realize that transition is transition.  For those who stay and for those who leave.  While my physical home is not changing, our home is once again being changed by a move.

I know we are dealing with transition when my husband and I adjust our travel budget realizing that “family time” now requires flying three people from one side of the country to the other.  I know we are dealing with transition as I watch my daughter struggle with the fact that all of her siblings are going to be living on the opposite coast.  I know we are dealing with transition when I look in my own heart and realize just how much I am going to miss them.

If there is anything we do consistently (and pretty well, thank you) as military families, it is to move.  However, being good at it does not mean that it is easy or that it does not impact us and our children.  So where can we find some comfort and encouragement in our (and our children’s) nomadic, transition-filled lives?

One of the things we do at our house is to talk about it – a lot.  Somehow, acknowledging that yet another move is going to be an adjustment for everyone seems to work so much better for us than the “this is the life God called us to, let’s not ever admit that it is hard” attitude.  It seems to be very freeing for teens and young adults to be led by parents saying, “This is going to be tough.”

The other thing we consistently need is a healthy dose of truth for our minds from God’s word.  Here is a truth I love to hang onto in seasons of transition:

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)

No matter how many moves impact our family or how small or dramatic those impacts may be, God goes with us wherever we go.  Not only does He see all the impacts before they occur, but He goes before us and prepares the way.  No matter how far a move may take us or our family members, God promises to never leave or forsake us.

So, it’s moving season again at our house.  More transition is headed our way and our family would appreciate your prayers.  With some conversation and some truth from God’s word, I know I, and my family, will have everything we need.  How about you? What truth is God giving you for a season of transition in your life?

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Bettina has been a military wife for over 29 years. She and her husband Rob have two sons and a daughter-in-law pursuing artistic careers in Los Angeles and a high school daughter at home with them outside Washington, D.C. She blogs at Simple Stories, Timeless Truths.

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