After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters–one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. Matthew 17:1-6
Have you ever had the chicken pox? Since I was a little one a wee bit before 1995, no vaccinations were given to me for keeping them away. In fact, some parents would be quite eager to have their child around others who were dealing with this itchy plight, hoping to get them over with. It always seemed to be worse if we got them when we were older. Unfortunately, it wasn’t always in our parents’ control since the most contagious phase was two to three days before any spots were even seen. Once we experienced them, we usually developed an immunity. I noticed it was common to get them around the time we were in kindergarten.
I remember my mom calling up the neighbor and trying to diagnose the rash that was developing on my body. Oh no! Was I going to have a hot potato put onto my ear again? Nope, wasn’t an ear infection. Their verdict…chicken pox. Oh, the sweet, cooling relief of cotton balls and that pink bottle of calamine lotion. What a great way to get a good count of all those spots! The potato wasn’t needed, but the mittens came out. Yes, I was in mittens during the night to keep from scratching those itchy things while I slept.
Would the itching ever stop? The excitement of counting the spots and novelty of having what other kids already experienced wore off quickly. There was hope though! Those blisters would turn into scabs, and the itching would lessen. What a rough, itchy transition phase. The scabs would eventually heal with the whole ordeal being nothing but a memory that I could pull out to tell my kids how easy their lives are nowadays. I really don’t believe that though because it may not be chicken pox, but there’s always something that we’re going through, no matter the age.
As we transition through things as individuals and as families, I’m reminded that there are different phases just like when we have chicken pox. There comes a time when things are really uncomfortable and not rainbows and unicorns as I’d hope. I can figuratively become quite itchy! They can be terribly rough times, leaving us wondering if the best is behind us. It could be with a job, in faith, physically, financially, mentally, or even with our children. How easy it would be to throw our hands up and say that we tried, but it just wasn’t good enough. We become blind to that sliver of sunshine that has been put in our path to keep us going because we stopped looking.
If you happen to be going through a particularly tough time today, I’d like to ask you one question. Could it be possible that you’re going through a transition phase? Sure, it’s a time of misery, and you’re about as uncomfortable as you can get, but is it possible what you’re going through can be used as part of your arsenal for immunity to future attacks that come along? Could it be that if you never dealt with it until you were older, the situation could be even worse?
I challenge you to see things in a new light at this very moment. This is your wake-up call to recognize the healing and wisdom that is being poured into you right now. This is your sliver of sunshine. Welcome to your Transition Phase!
