Sandra and I just recently went through another transition in our lives. We went from having four wonderful little munchkins to now having five! Abigail Joy Jeffs arrived in May and is an absolute delight to have in our family! Someone asked us recently, what was the biggest transition for us as parents? Going from one child to two or from two to three or after three does it all just feel the same? After I thought about it for a minute I realized that the biggest transition for us was from married without kids to married with kids. In other words, from none to one!

Why was that the greatest transition? Well for starters, our routines had to change! The amount of time spent doing what we wanted to do changed! The amount of hours we slept at night changed! The amount of laundry changed! The amount of storage space we had in our house changed! Everything changed and everything was new! It was an exciting time! It was a change that we loved and embraced! So adding one more child after the first one didn’t much matter for us because we were already in parent mode! We already embraced that change and transition in our lives. In other words, we had learned how to transition well!

As I have observed people over the years, I have come to realize that many struggle with change and have a very difficult time learning how to embrace it and transition well. We saw it firsthand yesterday with my youngest son Caleb. For those who know Caleb well, you would know that he has his favourite t-shirt and his favourite sport shorts that he likes to wear. We have finally convinced him that washing his favourite t-shirt once in a while will be a positive all the way around. The main issue Caleb has is how much he loves to wear shorts. He doesn’t like pants! He just wants to wear shorts all year round! He loves the freedom of shorts and the free air conditioning! Well, for those who live in Ontario right now you will now that we are experiencing another transition in our lives called “a change of seasons”! Fall is right around the corner and the weather is starting to cool off enough for Mommy and Daddy to start bringing out all the kids fall clothes which of course includes pants!! Caleb has noticed this transition and has been starting to get a little worried.

Well yesterday morning, life was progressing as it normally does. Caleb got up, went to the washroom, ate his breakfast, brushed his teeth and then started to get his school clothes on. Well, it didn’t take too long before we realized that it was a little chilly outside and that Caleb had just stepped out of his room with his school shorts and t-shirt on and ready to go. Oh no!! Here comes the moment we have been dreading for last two weeks. How can we convince Caleb that the transition from shorts to pants was for his benefit and not to harm him or frustrate him! Well, as any smart and loving husband would do, I put Sandra in charge of this transition moment! Well, she went in with a plan! She knew what she was doing. She was confident! She was in charge! She was focused! She had it all figured out! She knew what she was going to say to convince Caleb that this was going to be a great change!

So how did it go, you ask? Well to say that Caleb had a meltdown would be putting it rather mildly! He went nuclear!! He cried, he wailed, he clung to his shorts and wouldn’t let go! The poor thing! Well as only Mommy’s can, she got his pants on, got his shoes on and somehow got him to his classroom on time! Then just as she was about to leave, “meltdown: the sequel” started playing in the classroom. As a parent, what do you do in that moment? Well, at that particular moment I had flashbacks to an American Idol episode from a couple of years ago and this song started coming back to me… “Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, looking like a fool with your pants on the ground!”

Well, it was in that moment that God started waking up intercessors all over the world to start interceding and praying for my son that his pants would not fall to the ground, so that his Mommy would not look like a fool! In that very moment the intercessors started petitioning God to send a “man of peace” that would come and save my son. Well, that “man of peace” did come! His name was Noah and in that angelic moment, Noah convinced Caleb that if he kept his pants on that he could assist him in being the “leader of the day” in his class! The heavens opened at that point, God intervened and we were all saved! He kept his pants on and through the help of one of his classmates, he redeemed the moment and transitioned well.

As I was thinking about this moment, I have realized in my own walk with God that change is normal. As a matter of fact, it is constant! I believe the key for all of us is to learn how to transition well! To learn how to embrace it and to be excited about the next chapter in our lives! The cool thing with God is even when we struggle to change He has a way of bringing a “Noah” around just when we need it to help us keep perspective and to show us the way! So if you are struggling with change today look for your “Noah”, keep your eyes focused on God and transition well!