How to Effectively Cope with Change and Transition

 Many times when life takes a dramatic turn we initially feel displaced or out-of-sorts. Times of transition in our lives can cause disorientation, mental/physical fatigue, lowered immune system, sleeplessness, agitation, irritability, and fear.

What are some major life events that can change our lives? Moving, getting married, having a family member move in, job change, having a baby, school, and any type of loss.

Resisting change in the beginning is common because we are creatures of habit, and any changes in our routine can disrupt our order and flow of doing things. Take for instance having a baby, while it can be a joyous time to have a newborn; it can also bring disputed sleep, changes with spending time with your spouse, and limited personal time for self.

Usually for the first 21 to 30 days of transitioning to a new season in our lives it can be hectic, confusing and just plain tiring. After 21 to 30 days, we form new habits, and that is usually when the new changes begin to settle into our lives. Our lives at that point become more manageable and we begin to adapt to our new environments. Humans have an incredible ability to adapt to change, however, not all people adapt to change immediately. I do not do well with change, and my adaptation time can take a little longer. I am very routine, orderly and structured (very Type A). Type B personalities are more flexible and can more readily adapt to change. Be mindful that not everyone will immediately like change, and some may even resist it.

We can cope with change and transition a lot easier by:

1)      Taking it one day a time. Try not to jump ahead and figure out what next. One step at a time.

2)      Keeping a routine as much as possible. Make a new daily list of what needs to get accomplished for the day/week.

3)      Connect and plug into your power source-Jesus Christ. This cannot be underestimated. Spending daily time with God when you are going through changes can bring great comfort.

4)      Realize that the uncomfortableness of change will not last. Usually after 21 days adaptation to your new changes will occur if you do not resist the changes. If you resist and fight against the changes, it will take longer to adapt to them.

5)      Incorporate something that you did before the change, and try and implement this into your new schedule.

6)      Change can bring stress, so take care of your physical body and as well as your spirit by going to bed and getting up at the same time, eating well-balanced nutritious meals, exercising, and taking a good multi-vitamin.

7)      Stay connected to people that will encourage and support you during your time of changes such as family and friends. Having someone that you can talk with can serve as a buffer against the stress that comes with change.

8)      Try not to overload your schedule during the beginning of new changes. Keep your load light, as major changes can cause a decrease in energy levels. Rest when possible, and take it easy.

Changes and transitions will happen to all of us at some point in our lives. Not all changes would be considered bad, but even good changes like getting married can create stress. Letting the Holy Spirit guide you during times of changes in your life can make the difference between getting stuck or being able to successfully adapt.

I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand; I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:8

Have you had any recent changes in your life? If so, how are you coping with those changes?

Autumn, Preparing for the Next Season

As I look out my window typing this article, I can see the leaves are changing colors and I have my window open because the air is crisp and cooler. I love this time of year, and I enjoy the warm foods that come with this season. I enjoy homemade soup, chili, and even cocoa. As the season changes, I change my décor to look like fall. I have pumpkins and mums outside and indoors I decorate with festive fall colors. I also reorder my closet to bring out my coats and sweaters, and put away my shorts and summer tops. I pull out my boots and put away my summer flip flops. You can say I am preparing for the next season.

Now parallel how we get ready for a physical change in a season, we need to prepare for a spiritual change in seasons as well. Just as the seasons change and we get summer, fall, winter, and spring, our spiritual lives go through seasons as well. In Holidays and Holy Nights, Christopher Hill points out that for the Christian who observes the liturgical year, autumn is actually the beginning of the cycle. Each season we go through will represent something different for us. The fall represents change, harvest, and preparation. This spiritual season is parallel to the season of fall. The leaves on the trees are falling making way for new growth in the spring, but will undergo a time of preparation until. Just as our lives are undergoing changes, we should “gather and prepare” now for the time of new growth that will come. The climate also changes, depending where you live of course, but where I live, we have changes in temperature. Right now, it has been rather brisk and the nights have been cold. It is time to make a fire in the fireplace and put on our coasts and sweaters. While changing to the next spiritual season, you may need to spend extra time “bundling up” in the Word and in God’s presence, to prepare you for all that is to come.

How do you know when a spiritual season of change is coming?

1.      There is an anticipation. You do not know exactly what, but you sense something will happen.

2.      You are spending more time in God’s Word and long to be in His presence, nothing else will do.

3.      You have been in a long, “wilderness” season and have prayed and waited for answered prayers and deliverance.

4.      You long and yearn for change, yet in your own strength you know it is impossible and would need the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.

5.     You have been pulled back from your usual activities and friendships, and God has been doing a refining work in you. You are engaged in minimal activities, and are not preoccupied with busyness, because you know God is preparing you for His purposes.

Now is the time to prepare for the harvest, anticipate change, remove “dead’ things from your life, stay connected to God as you transition, and begin speaking life over all your circumstances; even if those things seem inactive or finished. This is the season to write out your vision again, and be convinced once again of God’s calling on your life. Life will come back to those things that have seemed to wither away. See everything in your past as training ground for your next season- your prior ministry endeavors, professional and personal experiences, and even past failures can serve as training. God will use it all! 

Feeling Stuck? You can Start Again and Move Past your Past

Are there hopes and desires that you once had, and now there somewhere in the distance? Maybe you have tried to step out many different times, only to see things crumble and lay by the waste side. Perhaps, you’re tired of trying to get back up again, and you feel you’re your hope has been deferred one too many times. So, now you feel stuck, stuck to go forward and try again. You may feel what the point in trying again is.

You may be in a season in your life where you feel stuck; you can’t go back but you’re not moving forward either. Let’s explore some reasons why you may feel stuck.

               

You may feel stuck but in fact you are not, God has you in the transition of waiting until the next season opens up. It could be that it is not time to move forward, yet you feel antsy in your flesh to move ahead. There is a grace and a flow when it is time to move ahead with the things of God, and when it’s not it feels like you are in quicksand and cannot move no matter how much you want to.

You might feel like you have tried many times before to mend a relationship, start a ministry or business, heal an old wound, break free from addiction and sin, get out of debt, or just enjoy your life, but each time you try it seems to fail. This has caused you to feel hopeless and like a failure. You have become tired and weary in the trying, and now it is comfortable and convenient to stay where you are.

Maybe you just don’t know what to do. You don’t know whether to go left or to go right or stay in the middle. You don’t have clear direction about moving forward, yet you desire to go forward; you have become tired of the waiting.

There could be resistance from the enemy. The enemy has seen your potential and is trying to defeat and discourage you, and thwart the plans that God has for you. You listen to the lies of the enemy and you stay bound where you are at.

What are you to do when you are stuck?

1.     Detach from your regular routine. Take time and step away and gain perspective and vision from God. Get a journal and ask God to give you a new vision. Even if you feel like you have already done this before.

2.     As with Jonah (read Jonah Chapter 3), he ran away from God and his calling, but God was giving him a second chance in God’s work. You may feel as though you are disqualified from serving God because of your past mistakes, but God may be giving you a second chance. Believe God is not done with you, no matter how many mistakes and failures that you have had.

3.     If you feel you can’t go back to the past but not able to go forward yet, seek God and ask Him to you if you are in a transition period before your new season comes. Many people do not like to wait for things, and if you are truly in a waiting and transitioning season then it is important to wait on God for His leading.

4.     As you live your life for God, determine not to trust in your own strength or abilities. Sometimes, we are fearful to move forward because we believe we can’t, not realizing it is not us but God that can. Do what you can now, even if it seems small and insignificant because God rejoices in what is right not necessarily what is big. Be faithful right where you are, and whatever God has given you to do now. Begin where you are at and do what you can, and leave the results to God. Don’t try and force promotion, recognition, your ministry, or even change. Let God on His time promote and give if He sees fit. Reframe your mind. Do not despise the small beginnings. Rethink your new opportunities, even if you feel they are small, and prayerfully consider that God may have you exactly where He wants you.

5.     Don’t compare yourself where you are at in life to where others are at in life. This will cause you to move ahead of God’s timing, or resent where you are at now. There is a season for everything, and a time for everything.

6.     Be willing to release and let go of your past and as the Holy Spirit leads you to move forward. Leaving the past behind you may feel sadness, depression, isolation, and loneliness, these negative feelings may cause you to cling to your past because it’s too painful to let go. Ask the Holy Spirit what you need to let go in your past.

7.     Be free and at peace to wait for God to open the door of new opportunity, and step out when He gives new opportunities.

Embrace new opportunities and see them as second chances from God. If fear has a tightening grip around you to move forward, know that God is not sending you fear. Be strong and very courageous. Never think it is over, God is in the business of do-overs.