3 Questions to Ask Yourself in Seasons of Transition
The past few months have been lived at a faster pace, and I’ll admit that I’ve struggled to keep up.
Life has been full lately, not of bad things necessarily, but because of this fuller schedule, it’s been more challenging for me to slow down, pause, and take notice of where I am and where God is. I can feel this busyness in my body in the way my shoulders have tensed, making it harder for me to breathe deeply. I came down with a cold last Monday and I’m still trying to shake it off, another indication that my body isn’t getting the rest that it needs right now.
Or maybe it’s an indication that I’m just not used to this kind of life — a life where I’m pouring out after years of hibernating and healing and wrestling and growing quietly. For the past two years especially, my husband and I have made some life changes that have forced us to face some of our own wounds. It was incredibly liberating and more than a gift to witness God’s faithful healing in that season.
But now, I’m standing at the threshold of a new season, and like I shared last week, I’m trying out a new practice of pausing at the threshold and listening to my life before moving on to what’s next for me.
I’ve been tired though, and pausing has been challenging. This transitional season has left me feeling weary and awkward, like I’m stumbling around in an unfamiliar place trying to stand on shaking legs that aren’t accustomed to this kind of pace.
And yet, I hear God’s invitation to keep walking anyway, to keep moving forward even though it feels awkward and unfamiliar. I’m beginning to see that this transitional season — this season where everything feels new, scary, and a bit exhausting — is an opportunity to meet God in the unknown. It’s an invitation to examine my soul and my life and recognize what rhythms and practices are no longer working so that I can receive what my soul needs right where I am.
Maybe you’re in the midst of a transitional season, too, friend, and you’re not really sure what this liminal space has to offer you. Maybe, like me, you’re feeling the weariness of new muscles being used and you’re being invited to look at your life and decide what your yeses and nos should be. Maybe it’s time to leave what’s familiar and enter into the unfamiliar and you’re feeling afraid and timid. Maybe for you, this transitional season is taking the shape of a new baby, an empty nest, a new job, or a new relationship. Maybe it’s letting go of a job, a relationship, or an expectation or dream you once held so tightly to.
If you resonate with any of that, well then, I’m right there with you.
Transitional seasons often feel disorienting and discombobulating. Actually, those two words accurately describe the sort of haze I’ve been in lately! This haze of trying to discern what community looks like in this season, what works for my marriage relationship right now, and what my relationship with God looks like.
While transitions are opportunities to meet God in the unknown, it can be difficult to get there mentally and emotionally. It can be hard to make space for God to speak into those liminal, uncertain spaces because so often, at least for me, we slip into autopilot and try to force what once worked into what’s new and unfamiliar. Usually, what once worked no longer really fits in these new spaces, and that’s totally normal and okay but can still feel disorienting.
That’s why I want to share with you today three questions that have really helped me lately discern where it is my feet are and where they’re meant to be. I pray that these three questions will help ground you and give you an anchoring point as you step into new rooms within these new seasons and phases of your life.
What transitions in your life feel the heaviest right now?
As humans, we face changes and transitions daily, and it’s important to name both the small and big transitions. But what are those transitions in your life that are making you feel tired and worn out? What are the changes right now that are keeping you awake at night, making you feel a bit afraid of the unknown? Take a few moments and name them with Jesus, or try writing them down in your journal so that you can visibly see them. There’s power in naming the season of life we’re in, especially our transitional seasons that oftentimes feel perplexing. Becoming aware of them gives us an arrow to follow.
What is meant for you in this season and what isn’t?
This question has been huge for me lately as I step into this new season of my life. I’ve quickly figured out that I am incapable of doing all of the things, much to my dismay! It’s been a challenging process for me at the threshold of this new season of discerning what I need to release and say no to in order to be totally present and faithful to my yeses. I would encourage you to make space for God to speak into your life right now as you present this question to Him with open hands.
Psalms 5:3 has been especially comforting to me as I discern what’s for me in this season and what isn’t.
“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly.” (NIV)
We often ask to hear God’s voice but maybe forget that He chooses to bend down low and listen to ours. He cares about what’s weighing on our hearts and as we lay these questions before Him, waiting expectantly for Him to answer, I am confident that He will guide us to what He’s inviting us to tend to in this season and what He’s inviting us to lay aside for a time.
What does your soul need?
This was a question posed by Summer Joy Gross, on her podcast, The Presence Project, as she, too, talked about her own season of transition and I thought it was simple but brilliant. How often do we pause long enough to take an inventory of what we need within each season of our lives? To ask what we need from ourselves, those around us, and God. It’s not selfish to ask this question because in order to faithfully steward what God is inviting us into in this season, we have to make space for what gives our soul breath or we won’t be able to be fully present to any of it. So, friend, what does your soul need?
Are there new rhythms or practices that you need to implement to help support you in this transitional season? Are there practices or rhythms that you need to let go of for now? Are you needing to take a look at your schedule and prioritize more time for rest and play or connection with those you love? Or are you being invited to cut back on something?
Take time to sit down with God and ask the question of what your soul needs in this season of your life. Reverend Summer Joy Gross says to give yourself the grace to be needy, and I think that’s something we could all practice a bit more when it comes to God and our souls.
Always Returning
I want to end here today with a beautiful, short poem that I stumbled across on the internet recently penned by a writer named Shellen Lubin. I think it fits perfectly with what we’ve been unpacking today.
“The earth is still turning...
The seasons enter,
play their part, bow and move on
every year, one to the next,
never overstaying their welcome
but always, always returning.
There is great comfort in that.”
I believe Shellen was referring to the earth’s seasons in this poem, but I think it speaks to our internal seasons, too, doesn’t it? Every season, every phase of life, change, and transition, never overstays its welcome, but the comfort of what’s familiar always returns. Because the comfort — the love, the anchor, and the familiar — is always Jesus and the more we lift our eyes to Him at the turn of each new season, the more close to Homebase we become.
Bless you, friend, as you take a moment today to look down at where your feet are and embrace the threshold of this new season of life. And even if you find that you’re not quite ready to move onto the next season, may you remember to look for God in the midst of those everyday, small changes.
May you behold the way He’s speaking through your life, right here, right now.
May you remember to stand at the crossroads and look, to ask for the ancient paths, to ask where the good way is, and walk boldly in it, finding rest for your soul as you let go and trust the One leading you onward (Jeremiah 6:16).
With you on the journey,
Celia
Life Lately
A Breath Prayer for Your Weekend
breathe in:
I lay my requests before You, God.
breathe out:
And wait expectantly. (adapted from Psalm 5:3, NV)
*If you’d like to learn more about the practice of breath prayer, download this complete digital guide to practicing breath prayer.
Resources & Good Things to Pick Up
Give these podcast episodes from Reverend Summer Joy Gross on The Presence Project a listen if you’re facing a transitional season right now:
Grab some breath prayer cards, a journal, a candle, and other contemplative resources from my Etsy shop: The Beholding Co.
Grab a copy of my Bible study, You Are Beloved: a 21-day study on how to root your identity in the love of God, over on Amazon. If you’d like a free 3-day sample of the study, reply to this email and I’ll send it right over!
My friend and licensed spiritual director, Kari Bartkus, offers an 8-week journaling program for those who want to process their grief and trauma with God within the safety of blank journal pages. I’ve completed the program myself and can say confidently that it was incredibly impactful and healing: Journal Gently
An Invitation to Pause & Reflect
A regular practice of reflection helps us recognize what’s going on beneath the surface of our souls so we can name it in the Lord’s presence. Because as we learn to name what we feel, what we need, and what we long for, we’re also learning to discern the Spirit’s sweet, gentle voice within our hearts and lives.
Take a few moments today or this weekend to journal or contemplate with the Holy Spirit the following question(s) or prompt(s):
What transition(s) in your life feel the heaviest right now?
What is meant for you in this season and what isn’t?
What does your soul need in this season of life?