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Often in the Bible we read the phrase "And it came to pass" (in the classic KJV vernacular).  Or, in more modern English translations it might be "And so it happened."  What follows on the heels of this Bible phrase varies widely, from the most mundane to a whirwind of insane activity.

And so it goes in life.  Transitions come and go.  We close one chapter to open a new.

The past four months have been a time of tremendous transition for me and my family.  The Lord has given us a new church, Corydon Baptist Church in Corydon, IN.  (www.corydonbaptist.org).  The people are precious and the Southern Indiana scenery is gorgeous with its rolling hills and wooded farmlands.  We pinch ourselves daily!

We were so blessed to serve King Jesus at Tar Landing Baptist Church in Jacksonville, NC for 5 years.  We miss it, but also know that God led us here to Corydon.  God has favored us by allowing me to serve as Preaching Pastor here at CBC, and He alone gets glory for any good accomplished in and through me, period.  I have already been telling the folks here at CBC, "If it's good, it's got to be God.  If it's not so great, it must be me!"

But what I want to explore in this post is the challenge of marriage and parenting through a time of major transition.  Anyone who says moving or changing things does not impact a marriage or home is just lying.  We (the McWhorter's) knew this time would stretch us, stress us, and potentially undo us if we did not rest solely in the grace of God in Christ.

To be truthful, I have sinned against God and my wife and children in these tension-ridden days of moving furniture, setting up new routines, new offices, new bills to pay, new people to meet, and on and on it goes.  I could use the "stress" as an excuse, but it would not make my sin any less sinful.  Anger is anger.  Lashing out in frustration is lashing out in frustration.  Blame-shifting is blame-shifting.

It is only the gracious presence of Holy Spirit God in my life that has kept me repenting before God and my wife and children.  They have been so good to forgive me repeatedly in the last few months!  I could never deserve them, and I could never deserve my Savior who just keeps lavishing me with love and kindness in spite of my fretful self.

Christian friends, could you imagine where you would be or how you would live apart from the restraining power and presence of God in your hearts?  After all the stressed out antics I've unleashed recently I am amazed Jesus still wants me and keeps me, not to mention my precious wife and children!

And so that's the point.  How do we get through life's transitions without losing our minds, blowing our stacks completely, losing our marriages or needlessly harming our children?

The gospel. 

Time after time in these days of change I have felt the tug of God on my heart to get in the Word, and to lead my family to a passage of Scripture that helped keep us focused on what matters most in this life - the glory and grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ! 

One episode comes immediately to my mind.  The home we bought is older and had been sitting for some time prior to us moving into it.  So, we have had a fair share of plumbing "back-ups" and clogged pipes.  This sometimes forced us out of the home for a few nights at a time, since the bathrooms were inoperable (totally unacceptable to my girls to go behind the tree out back, but I made the suggestion nonetheless).  When the stress level got high, just before we had company coming up from NC to visit, I knew God was calling and equipping me by His Spirit to be "the man of the house."

Not by fixing the plumbing, because I'm clueless on home repairs!  But by leading my family in the Word.  So, we reminded ourselves that evening, with overflowing toilets all around us, that people all over the world did not have homes, or toilets.  We reminded ourselves that young girls in Vietnam were in prison that very night for loving Jesus and reading their Bibles.  We remembered that God had called us here to be gospel salt and light to the people of Southern Indiana.  Were we going to let a toilet shipwreck us and drive us to ingratitude?

In short, we preached the gospel to ourselves that night.  God carried us through on the wings of His gospel and the winds of grace, and we were refreshed in the midst of our "life transition."

The gospel is good for all of life's ups and downs.  It is powerful to save, powerful to keep, powerful to renew, powerful to convict.  The gospel is powerful, for in it Christ graciously comes to us and reminds us, "I died to redeem you from every lawless deed, and to purify you for Myself as My very own possession.  Now go be zealous to live for My Fame" (see Titus 2:14).

Praise God, I believe more stable times are ahead for us here.  But, I'm thankful for gospel grace and forgiveness in the times of transition, too!

by Keith McWhorter