Transitions

If you’d like to hear the original audio content of this blog, check out this episode of So Every Soul Sings:  Saying Goodbye/Transitions in Ministry 

Transitions can spark a real crisis of faith. When everything is changing it is easy to feel uncertain about everything. Our family of five is currently preparing for yet another move, from East Tennessee to Florida in just a few weeks. Our house is a mess, and truly, at times, my mind and heart have felt like a mess too. Here are some things to consider for any of you who are in a season of transition.

When our family arrived in Bowling Green in 2014 for my husband’s job, I did not anticipate starting a non-profit ministry that would grow from conferences to worship nights to a worship school to international travel to teach. But I was seeking the Lord.

Many times in leadership, we seek the Lord for “stuff” so that we can get on with the things we want/need to do (the song list for Sunday morning, for the small group we are leading, we have a problem with our children, etc.) And sometimes, when we do get some revelation from God, we ride it as long as possible until we need something else. We seek the gift instead of the Giver.  So, first of all, in seasons of transition, seek the Lord, develop intimacy with the Holy Spirit, our Helper. God knows the plans that He has for us and is fully able to realize those things for us, things we are hoping for, and things we haven’t even imagined yet. Jeremiah 29 says both that we will find Him if we seek Him with all our heart AND He has plans to give us a hope and a future.

Secondly, I need to be prepared in this new place for God to deal with me about anything from previous seasons that might hinder me from what He has for me in the new place. In Bowling Green, that looked like being confronted about an old wound. God required forgiveness from me, ministered healing to me and reconciliation through me before I could speak at an event.  This might take some time and space in God’s presence. Psalm 139:23-24 is a GREAT place to start.

Thirdly, leaving anything is a kind of loss. Those feelings of grief are normal, they need to be felt, and if you are like me, crying many tears is perfectly okay. Journal, talk to people, receive from people, give encouragement to people who have helped you. However, be aware when it is time to rein things in a bit, because powerful emotions can get us stuck. Our feelings don’t get to drive, but they can ride, author and podcaster Annie F. Downs says. Psalm 84:6 says that as we move THROUGH the valley of weeping, it becomes a place of refreshing springs. We are called to move through sorrow into joy.

Lastly, it is easy for me to release things and people that are in what I consider a “good place”.  It is not as easy with people or circumstances that are complicated or hard. In John 4:35 Jesus teaches his disciples about reaping and harvesting: “I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” In other words, we very rarely get to prepare the ground, sow the seed, pull the weed, water what is growing, AND harvest. We often are only one part in a very long line of God’s powerful work through other people who are faithfully partnering with Him. When I left Bowling Green, I had to realize I had reaped things others had laid the foundations for in weeping and prayer, and conversely, I knew that I had sown things that others were going to reap. That is the way God’s Kingdom works. I can be sure that all of the greatest dreams of my heart did not start in any particular place/job/position/relationship, but in the heart of God who is faithful to complete the good work He is doing all over the earth.