When I was asked to write about transitions, I actually laughed out loud. Why? Because quite frankly my past track record during the major transition periods in my life has been rocky. At my recent wedding shower, my sister told my mother-in-law, "Just so you know, she's not good with big changes. Good luck."

For me, transitions always seem to end up synonymous with scary; awkward; nervous; strange; stressful; and, did I mention, awkward. My transitions have been a pretty normal part of growing up: going to high school, moving to college, moving to a new state for grad school, even getting married. Unfortunately, my transitions have often followed a familiar path: move, freak out, call my family members crying and stressing out about the new stage of life, feel upset and angry because things are not "perfect" right away, and start envying others situations—even if I had been praying to be in this new situation. Then when all the stress and worry gets unbearable, I finally turn to God and lastly realize that maybe praying and turning things over to God would work best. He is, in fact, the one leading me to where I need to be.

One might think that after the first—or even second—rocky transition, I would just skip the mess in between and jump simply to the prayer and trust in God. I thought it was always easy to make fun of the Israelites when they repeatedly doubted God, until I realize that I'm no different. Fortunately I've made enough transitions that now I can reflect on them.

One of my favorite comfort passages is from Philippians. Paul writes from prison, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:4-6). This passage speaks a lot to me regarding transitions