Finding What’s Next: Creating New in Life’s Transitions

Life’s transitions can feel like stepping off a map into uncharted territory. Whether you’re facing the end of a ministry season, stepping away from a career, or simply sensing a stirring for something more, these in-between times can be both unsettling and full of potential. Even with the start of a new year, in some ways we get the gift of a blank canvas to work with. But we’re not sure where to start. Been there? I sure have!

I know how it feels to be stuck in the messy middle—uncertain about what’s next but unable to go back to what was. It’s disorienting and, at times, lonely. But it’s also where God does some of His most profound work in us. These “clean slate” moments come with an invitation to discern, discover and design something new in partnership with the Creator Himself!

In my own seasons of transition, I’ve found that clarity comes when I take time to pause and reflect on what matters most. What are my core values in this season? What do I need to thrive—spiritually, emotionally, and practically? These questions have become anchors for me, guiding me through the fog of uncertainty.

But clarity isn’t the end goal. It’s the launchpad. The next step is about creating—taking bold, faith-filled actions toward what’s next. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it. I’ve seen this in my own life and in the lives of the leaders I coach. When we lean into the discomfort of change, trusting that God is leading us, something beautiful emerges.

If you’re in a season of transition, I want to encourage you: You’re not alone. There’s a path forward, and it begins with taking a step. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing more about how to navigate these in-between moments, rediscover your purpose, and step boldly into what’s next.

For now, let me leave you with this: What if this transition isn’t just about what you’re leaving behind? What if it’s about what you’re being called to create?

Take a moment to sit with that. Reflect on it. Then form the thought into a prayer, maybe something like “God, what’s the new You’re inviting me into?”

And when you’re ready, I’d love to hear what’s stirring in your heart.

We’re in this together.

-Tim

Enlarge Your Capacity by Doing Less in Transitions

A common tension in transition revolves around the question of how to sustain a healthy balance between being and doing. While transition requires leaning into both, we often wrestle with finding a healthy cadence.

How does your style and temperament react to change? Do you tend to lean into your doing/task orientation side, while neglecting God's invitation to just be? Or, do you welcome and create space for rest and reflection, ending up with a long list of transition-to-do's, overwhelmed at the end of the day?

Navigating a transition back to the states following 20 years of life overseas, I vented to my counselor and rattled off all the reasons I was not getting a fair shake. He interjected something which stopped me in my tracks. He said, “Tim, have you taken time to breathe?”

It hit me: I needed to come up for air, but I was fighting it. I needed fresh perspective, and the only way for that to happen would be to enter into God's invitation to rest. At that juncture in transition, I needed to slow down and choose what I had been considering a luxury for later when the dust settled…reflection and rest. Yet, slowing down in transition was one of the best things I did for myself (and those around me).

Here I'm reminded of a quote by Charles Spurgeon:

Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength…. It is wisdom to take leave. In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less. (An All Around Ministry)

Indeed.

Difficult transitions are often complicated by decision fatigue, “the deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision making.” (Lark). If that's where you're at, why not linger a spell at the crossroads, allowing God's unhurried wisdom and counsel to take root in your heart, mind, and spirit?

Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' — Jeremiah 6:16, NIV

Slowing down, noticing, and asking is God's prescription for the clarity and confidence we so desperately need in seasons of change. It's also the path to enlarged capacity.

When we pause long enough and observe closely, we just might find ourselves moving beyond merely looking at the fog and feeling the stress levels rise; we actually might see more options and opportunities as the fog lifts. At the very least, we will know more peace through the uncertainty. When we only define capacity as doing more, we miss when our capacity for being—in this case peace—grows.

The following exercises combine the doing and being components of transition. Done with intentionality, in community, and possibly with outside support such as coaching or spiritual direction, they will help you slow down and serve to inform your transition to-do list. Thus, your to-be and to-do list reflects what truly matters. Here are three exercises:

1. Values clarification helps us discover (or remember) our true north in transition seasons. Taking a deep dive into values clarity has a way of grounding us through the uncertainty of change. Knowing our needs and values serves to anchor us in what matters most and to prioritize those areas. From time to time at Global Trellis, we offer a full needs and values assessment and the opportunity to unpack your results within a group of like-minded individuals. For a start, you may want to try out this abbreviated needs and values worksheet and unpack your findings with a trusted friend or family member.

2. Discernment takes time and intentionality. Simply forming the questions we need to ask in transition is no easy task. Slowing down long enough to enter into conversations with God and His people helps solidify the important questions and top priorities. Here are some examples of great questions to ask in a season of discernment.

3. Rest, renew, and review on a regular basis. I've discovered it helps me to regularly sit with a set of reflection questions. Engaging with these questions weekly helps me celebrate wins, cultivate gratitude, re-align with my values, and decide my priorities. They aren't magical, but they are another way to cultivate a rhythm of purposeful reflection.

One final word of encouragement

Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. (Ephesians 6:13, The Message)

Transitions are opportunities to stand in the juncture of two or more paths and consider the options. When we take time to put on the brakes and stand in a crossroads, we are able to notice what lies in front of us with prayerful curiosity. We are more likely to end up in a good place when it's all said and done, with capacity for being able to handle all of the doing that transitions require.

A season of coaching can help you strike a healthy balance between being and doing in transition. Let’s have a conversation!

Schedule Custom Life Coach Call — Encompass Life Coaching

*This article was originally published on Global Trellis

Leaves and Lies

The City of Trees became Boise's nickname before it was even a city. As the story goes, after trekking through the desert along the Oregon Trail, French fur trappers came upon the Boise River Valley and shouted "Les Bois, Les Bois," or "the trees, the trees," in French. The name soon caught on.

As the cold weather now settles into Idaho, I’ve been surprised at the determination of the trees holding on to their leaves. Fall-colored leaves stubbornly cling to branches through freezing temps. Finally, with a few snowfalls now behind us, the trees are mostly bare.

A false sense of identity is kind of like those leaves. It can be difficult to shed and let go of. We can become so wrapped up in self-perceptions based on roles, titles, and what others think or say about us. We lose sight of who we truly are. The process of shedding the mask of false identity and embracing who we really are does not come easy. The lies we tell ourselves, and which shape our self-perceptions, can be stubborn. Kind of like those Fall leaves.

Dutch writer Henri Nouwen identified “three human lies” we believe about our identity—what he referred to as our False Self:

1. I am what I do.

2. I am what I have.

3. I am what other people say or think about me.

Which “lie” or combination of lies have you bought into? What would it look like to see yourself for who you really are?

The Advent season for me has become a sacred time to shed the false and embrace the true. What I’ve allowed to build up over time must be torn down, one true word from God at a time, until the weight of false identity is lifted and I’m free to live and work from an authentic place.

Eventually, old growth must give way for new. Christ came to make sure of that…

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” - Isaiah 43:19

This season of the year is perfect for setting aside time to discern and discover the new things taking shape in our heads and hearts. As a way to get clarity, download my free Discernment Guide. Then, carve out some quiet space to sit with the questions. What’s the new you’re being invited into?

3D Transitions™ Group Coaching Coming Soon!

My newest offer is a 3-week group coaching journey called 3D Transitions™. Join me and discover and create a sustainable process to center life around what truly matters. If you would like to get really get on what’s next and have a plan to get there, this program is for you! Space is limited. Learn more and register HERE.