An echo, a reverberation of noise, the sound of emptiness. An echo can be enchanting, exciting, or depressing. Echoes seem so ordinary, but in times of change, they can be pretty significant.

I recently moved out of my two bedroom apartment that I had shared with one of my best friends for two years and moved into a one bedroom apartment across town. Upon arrival at my new place, I became painfully aware of the emptiness that it had. It lacked my bright colored wall hangings, blankets, and socks that are normally all over the house. It lacked the laughter, conversations, and tears that my roommate and I had had in my other apartment. It was a clean slate. It was new. And, for a little while, it was empty.

Thankfully, once I got a few things moved in, I began to feel better. I replaced the feeling of lack with the feeling of excitement and anticipation. The echoes I heard then made me look forward to having friends over, dancing in my living room, and enjoying this new segment of my life. Over the next few days, I moved items from one place to the other and slept in the new apartment while I got used to its unique cracks and pops at night and the sound of the air conditioner kicking on. As I continued to empty my old bedroom and fill my new one, one echo got softer while the other got louder.

The more comfortable I became in my new place, the more empty and foreign the old one felt. With each load of clothes and random items, the echo in my old bedroom got louder. It continued until I had removed the last item that belonged to me from my apartment. Then, I just sat in the floor of my old, now empty, bedroom. I thought about what the past two years had been like, what I would have liked to have changed, and the moments I wish I would have really invested in more. I sat there and focused on the echo of the past two years of my life. For awhile, I was a little sad. Then, I made the decision to be happy and to be grateful for the time I spent there. As I got up, every noise I made echoed softly, and I just smiled and walked out of my room.

This one life change is really the precursor to several more coming my way, and I'm anxiously waiting to see how everything will turn out. But, this one change did teach me to value the echo- the echo of the past and the echo of what is to come. I found peace and excitement in pausing to reflect on those echoes. I also found God using those echoes to speak to me about what is coming up next.

So, next time you are going through any kind of change, pause. Pause, and find the echo. Reflect on the things you are leaving behind, and look forward to the ones ahead. Pause, and listen for God's voice in the stillness of the echoes of your life.