This is the first Monday I’ve been in my office since June – 5 weeks ago. During those five weeks I spent 2 potentially life-changing weeks in Kenya serving at the Springs of Hope children’s home. I spent 9 potentially life-changing days on a retreat/vacation in the North Georgia mountains. I read 5 books including 3 which are… yes, potentially life-changing.
But now that I’m back in my office, I face the current of “life as usual.” Everything here wants to pull me in the same direction I was going before – email, meetings, routines, schedules. The lives and expectations of everyone around me.
River and ocean currents are great when they flow in the direction you want to go. But when you want to change course, it takes a lot of intentionality and effort to break free of the current.
People have a lot of “life-changing experiences” that don’t end up changing their life at all, because they continue to go with the flow and stay in the current of their existing life.
If you want your life to change – I mean really change – you have to fight hard to break free of the momentum of the current. Know what you want to do differently & be determined to do it!
Perhaps the biggest challenge is knowing you want things to be different but not knowing exactly what that means or how. That’s where I am right now. Maybe you are too. My next step? To figure out my next step.
For me, that means scheduling time to be alone – to pray, to think, to journal. And not allowing the current of the busyness of “life as usual” to sweep me down stream.
Have you had a “life changing experience” that has yet to change your life? Post a comment & stand with me against the current of life as usual. What’s prompted you to want to change? What’s your next step? If your next step is to figure out your next step, how are you doing to do that?
[image by runneralan2004]
Man…this speaks to me. There’s so much to do in the day to day that there’s little time left over to make the big life changes that you want to make. Especially when that change is job related, there’s a lot of risk associated with making those changes.
A big part of heading in a new direction is changing our thoughts and attitudes, and that is also difficult when we’re surrounded by the things we’re trying to get away from.
God’s blessings and guidance to you!
Thanks Chris! You’re right – our own thoughts and attitudes are also a part of that current that pulls us forward in the same direction we’ve been going. Tough to break free.
Praying for you, bro! I know you’ve been wrestling with some things for a while. Don’t stop wrestling until you get some clarity.
There are two things that keep me stuck there often. The primary one is that “life-changing” is big, daunting, and we think we need 180 degree turns in a month’s time. I have to take a step back to realize it took more than a month to make these patterns so why do we think it just takes a month to break them? (I’m still looking for the 30lbs in 30 days diet…:) Rather, I try to start with the little mile markers that inch me closer to where I want to be. (Can I give up fast food?) The second place is insecurity that keeps me stuck. Too many big what-ifs. What if no one supports me? Can I make financial ends meet? What if I “rock the boat” and upset others? What if where I’ve been thinking my life was headed isn’t what God is saying? Those what-ifs require discernment! They aren’t generally from God. His what-ifs sound more like, “What if you really step into what I have had for you all along?” God’s questions get your hopes up:)
Get your hopes up! God’s ALWAYS doing a new thing, waiting for us to say “yes”.
Thanks Sandi! Good points. Every journey begins with a step, and we don’t have to “get there” right away. But usually those first few steps are the toughest. Especially when it’s a matter of giving up the good for something better.
The currents are strong sometimes, more often than not. For me, if it is a “right” thing to do, something inside keeps us moving forward and then some door may crack open. It creates enough space to keep moving, making a difference and trying live a life unusually meaningfully (as much as possible).
Keeping the faith; spending time to refresh, reflect; and using opportunities to gain strength for the long haul are all critical.
Thanks for an insightful post! Godspeed in your work ahead.
Jon
Thanks Jon!