Pastor's Reflection 2025-07-24

August - The Month of Transitions

When I was a kid, August always brought with it a strange mix of emotions. During my summer vacations I had carefree moments, late nights, and long hot summer days at some swimming pool.  In August, all that began to quietly slip away. I can still remember feeling a tinge of sadness as the days grew shorter and the back-to-school commercials started airing on television (remember television with commercials?). There was something bittersweet about those last few weeks; trying to soak up the freedom of those long days of summer, all the while I knew that the pencils, the notebooks, (remember pencils and notebooks?) and a return to early morning school days were all just around the corner.

As an adult, I still feel the shift that August brings. It’s the month of transitions, when the warmth of summer begins to yield to the crispness of fall. For families with children, it’s the return to routine of school. For churches, it’s often a time to prepare for the busyness of fall ministries. The pace changes and the focus shifts.

Transitions, whether they are seasonal, emotional, or spiritual; can be both unsettling and full of promise. In his book entitled “Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes”, William Bridges reminds us that every transition begins with an ending. There’s a letting go, a time of uncertainty, and then, finally, a new beginning. It’s not just about moving from one phase to another.  It is about the inner work of being present, adjusting, grieving, and opening ourselves to change, to transitions.

Scripture, too, speaks clearly about transitions.  Ecclesiastes 3:1, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” These words offer a kind of quiet assurance that transitions and change are not chaotic or random. Change is part of a rhythm of a season, woven into the fabric of our lives. Just as the earth turns and the leaves change color, we too are meant to change, to evolve, to be shaped by the seasons of our lives.

August is a month of transitions.  I invite you to pause and to ask - what am I letting go of?  What uncertainty am I walking through? What do I feel that God wants to teach me in this in-between space? August offers us a sacred invitation; not just to prepare for what’s next, but to be fully present for the transitions our lives and thus the transformation.
May we step into this season with a deep trust that God is with us in every change in all of the seasons of our lives.

Grace and peace,
Rev. John Oda