I really love airports. Ticket counters, luggage carts, passports and the clickety-click of exit and re-entry stamps. I love the adventure of layovers and discovering new restaurant kiosks and leisurely sipping coffee. I know, it's weird.

I've recently come to realize that airports are one of the few places on the planet where it's completely expected and normal to be in transition. As you board the plane with your carry-ons and settle into your aisle seat, you consciously leave the demands of life upon departure and head toward the new challenges of life upon arrival. But for a handful of glorious hours, you live in the in-between. There's a permission to transition, an invitation to take a break to process.

But if you're like me, you recognize that it's not in the global worker budget to run to the airport every time we see transition on the horizon. Many times, I don't even recognize transition for what it is, and this makes the grieving and the processing even more difficult. We as global women face a multitude of transitions including moving overseas, learning a new language, and adapting to a new culture.

Within these bigger transitions, there are many smaller, sometimes overlooked transitions. I remember vividly the transition of meeting my local house helpers and watching them clean and cook and play with my son. I felt guilty, confused, and alone. I didn’t acknowledge the need for space to transition and grieve the loss of identity I had known as a wife and mom back in my passport country.

Peter writes about our inheritance in heaven that is beyond the reach of change and decay. What a thought! I look forward to the day when transition is no more. In the meantime, acknowledge to yourself that transition is real and hard. When your heart longs for space to process, take a trip to the Throne of Grace. Here you will find much more than the airport has to offer: an invitation to pour out your fears, your heartache, and your insecurities before the Throne, where you will receive grace!