A life journey does not unfold in a straight line; the route is often circuitous and sometimes requires an abrupt stop in order to discern the next steps.
-Debbie Kirk
Wide Open Spaces: Women exploring call through stories and reflections
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The job ends.
The lover leaves.
The committee votes no.
The last child leaves home.
The medical test comes back positive.
The path we thought we were on ends. In his classic, Transitions: making sense of life’s changes, William Bridges says transition has 3 stages:
1) Endings,
2) The Neutral Zone and
3) New beginnings.
It’s the Neutral Zone that is so torturous. We are
Confused
Disappointed
Grieving
Rejected
Lost
and want to get out of this zone as soon as possible!
According to Bridges, however, we need to “get into” this zone in order to discover New Beginnings truly authentic for us. One of his wise instructions is to use this time to find out what we really want.
So hard! When the past has ended and we can’t envision the future, we are tempted to seek only the quickest and best imitation of the past we can find.
But transition has something to teach us–about ourselves. Consider this:
What we truly desire coincides with what God desires for us and what He has given us the potential to become.
God waits, ready to enable our becoming.
What do you want?
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@gloriabethrose
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