Have you ever felt blindsided by change? Maybe, like Liam, you were passed over for a promotion you felt promised. Or perhaps, like his wife Teresa, you wonder if staying put is the best move. Transitions can be confusing and leave us feeling stuck. But what if I told you this could be a season of exciting possibilities?
Transitions are pivotal times to discover and embrace our true identities and live with greater purpose and fulfillment, even through the uncertainty and ambiguity of change. Get practical strategies and insights to help you respond to identity confusion in our ever-changing lives.
When we dig wells of trust through the seasons - with God and with others - we are storing up a reliable source of relational capital, namely trust. Relational trust is something valuable we can draw from when navigating tough transitions marked by uncertainty.
Transitions bring disruption and upheaval. In transition seasons we may come to a point where we no longer recognize our lives. But what if we could build some intentionality into the process of change? How could it help us stay more grounded, hopeful, and purposeful through the uncertainty of it all?
Whether transition is forced upon us or comes about by personal choice, making it to the other side requires that we intentionally process the loss and plan for the next productive season. Is it possible to walk through a major life transition with both hands full, one doing the work of grieving losses, and the other gradually filling up with good seed to plant in rich soil?
In the natural world, the quietest places are often the deepest places...the deep sea, deep into the woods, a deep cavern. These can be frightening places to explore, involving a fair amount of risk and uncertainty. In the same way, navigating silence in the coaching conversation may feel risky and uncertain. However, as coach and client embrace silence, we allow God to take us deeper into those places of discovery.
A little more persistence could be just what we need to make steady progress toward our goals and dreams. Often, the assumption is that doing more and going faster are the answers. Persistence with payoff, however, must be grounded in the substance of rest, reflection, and a good dose of play from time to time.
Read 2 Corinthians 2:14-16
Scripture Focus: Ephesians 5:1
Isn’t it amazing how our memories can be awakened by certain smells, taking us to a person, place or thing from our past? This past winter as I was working in my garden, I noticed one rose just starting to bloom. Fearing the approaching cold would hinder it, I clipped it off and brought it indoors. Over the next few days, the rose unfolded and subsequently gave off a beautiful scent which filled our living room.
The flower’s aroma took me back to childhood visits to grandma’s house in Northern California. Her home was filled with the scent of rose. There are other things I remember about those visits: Grandpa snoozing in his recliner. The feisty little Yorkshire terrier running around the house. But the aroma…that’s what hit me the most.
We’ve been created to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere (2 Corinthians 2:14). This happens when we imitate our Lord’s example of love and sacrificial service (Ephesians 5:1). In the same way the scent of a rose conjures up a pleasant memory, our lives of service are meant to remind people of their loving Creator and His plan for them. What could be more pleasing to our heavenly Father?
Thought for the Day: What am I doing to remind others of God’s love for them?
Prayer: Lord, help us to be joyful imitators of your Son. May our lives give off the fragrance of Christ to those who may need a reminder of just how much you care for them.
Read: Jeremiah 23:23-24
Scripture Focus: Genesis 28:15-16
Big life change can often bring about a sense of confusion or feeling lost. When the familiar things in life are replaced by the unfamiliar, God can seem distant and unconcerned. That was certainly how I was feeling two years ago after moving to the bustling metropolis of Istanbul, a city of over 15 million people.
Me, my wife and our two children had moved into a small apartment in a bustling part of the city. It was at the crossroads of two busy streets. The traffic noise was like nothing I had ever experienced, and it seemed to be constant throughout the day and night.
The call to prayer rang out from several different mosques in our neighborhood. I was feeling a bit lost and distant from God. I was thousands of miles away from the spacious house I had been living in for the past seven years, complete with a large garden and fruit trees. Unfamiliar surroundings. New sights and sounds. I was beginning to wonder, “Lord did I hear you right? Are you really in this move?”
Just then I heard God’s whisper through the scriptures, “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” (Jer. 23:23). I realized that He was encouraging me to trust Him with the change and uncertainty I was feeling. I could never escape his sight and his presence, even in this faraway and unfamiliar place. In fact, during the days and months that followed, His nearness became more real to me than it ever would have been if I had chosen to stay in my comfortable surroundings.
Thought for the Day: God is nearby in faraway places.
Prayer: Lord, help us to trust you with the uncertainties of transition. In lonely and uncomfortable surroundings, may you be our constant companion and ever present help.
