Listen – Argue – Go – Don’t Go: Transitions
At the end of my last post, I finished it with:
be Brave.
be Courageous.
be Confident.
Trust. Embrace. Go.
These words hold such meaning to me. At the end of 2017, I was struggling with what I was doing job wise, identity, and calling… none of which should inter-relate. you are not what you do, your identity is not in your calling or your job…. but that is a whole blog in itself. So back to struggling… I was struggling with these and praying about it all A LOT.
Coming into the new year – 2018 – I knew I wanted to refind myself and my identity in Christ. To truly start following Him more than anything I did. Praying more about 2017 and what I wanted 2018 to look like: God downloaded the message I shared with you:
be Brave.
be Courageous.
be Confident.
Trust. Embrace. Go.
Little did I know what that would hold or truly mean. When I wrote those words for the first time, I didn’t understand the why behind it. But, now I know that was God’s answer to the prayers and struggles I had been dealing with for the months prior. He was preparing me to take the steps I knew I should have taken a year ago.
So I looked at 2018 as a year to say, “Yes.” To trust. To embrace whatever was going on. And to just Go… whatever that looked like. I still struggled with purpose in some things I was doing that most people would question and be like, “how could you question if that’s God’s work or calling on your life…” I received a lot of compliments for what I was doing and how positive the changes were in what I was doing BUT it didn’t feel right to me. I knew there was something missing for me.
Steven and I spoke/argued a lot over the last year about some things regarding God calling us elsewhere – church wise. I didn’t want to go. Our church was comfortable. Our kids had grown up in this church. Then God started to show himself more and more to me and Steven both…followed by Trinity. When your 13 year old comes to you about wanting and needing to grow more spiritually (all on her own and out of the blue) – you can’t deny God is trying to get your attention.
So here we are – taking some steps of faith. I stepped down from my job at a church that we loved and were obsessed with at one point, I have no job, and we are starting a new church while finishing up our season at our old church with our daughter going on her last mission trip with them. For what?? Why?? Because God calling you out away from conformity and comfort is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT. We have always said we will follow and want His desires to be our desires – but if we don’t follow, how can we actually say that? He gives us just enough of the path to keep us going…
Some things that I have learned in such a short amount of time during this transition:
I don’t know what the future looks like. I do know that my unknown future is being trusted to a very big known God…and I am okay with that.
Transitions are painful and can be messy – especially if you wait too long to follow what God’s told you to do – but there is beauty and a sense of freedom in and through the transition.
Hindsight is 20/20 – and things always look different from the outside.
My husband is the spiritual head of our household – I should learn to be more submissive (uh oh – bad word… insert eye roll) to that (sometimes lol) versus fighting and being so stubborn.
My husband wants the very very best for me – He has shown me Christ-like love like I had never seen throughout this last year.
People, first and foremost – my husband, believe in me and my calling to write (books/blogs/articles) and speak more than I believe in myself. (Thank you God that we can do more than we believe through you!).
Be more concerned about pleasing and living for God than people… a lot of people say this – few live this.
When God gives you a word – DO NOT BE AFRAID TO FOLLOW!
Whatever you are wanting to do, what you feel God is calling you to do – Don’t be scared to do it….
be Brave.
be Courageous.
be Confident.
Trust. Embrace. Go.
