SLEEPING WITH BIG BIRD

My four year old recently threw the biggest tantrum of her life.  She was exhausted and refused to take a nap without her life size giraffe named “Big Bird”.  She screamed and screamed, “I want to sleep with Big Bird, I want to sleep with Big Bird”.  I held her while she screamed and she tried very hard to push me away.  I understood her tantrum well, in part because I wanted to tantrum myself.  Recently, our family welcomed our fifth member, a baby brother.  As I was recovering from a c-section and trying to adjust to life with a third little person, my two daughters were also struggling to embrace the fact that their normal routine had been changed in a major way.  

After the tantrum ended, I pondered all the change.  I was reminded of the pain and difficulty that comes with a transition.  Positive or negative, change is hard and painful. As grateful and overjoyed I was at the birth of my son, a part of me longed for the familiar.  The regular outings to story time with my daughters, soccer games, and the school drop offs to name a few.  Recognizing this longing gave me compassion for what my daughters were going through and for myself and the huge transition that had recently taken place.  I was reminded of a term called eustress, which is a positive stressor or life change.  Eustress likes to sneak up on me.  I forget that even positive change can be painful and disorienting.  I find that I don’t realize what is truly going on inside my own heart because I refuse to recognize the situation for what it is.  No matter how beautiful or ugly, change requires energy. So I tell myself, in the presence of change or transition, it is important to call it what it is. It is important to apply grace to oneself and to all others involved.  It is important to recognize God’s presence. God came and dwelt among us and is with us now.   What does it look like for God's presence to be with you in the midst of whatever transition you may be facing?