Skip to main content

Transition, transition, transition

Wow, it's already the middle of September! This past month has flown by for me.









I just finished my fifth week of the new school year.

I am loving The Quiet Collection by Emily P Freeman to help me have a sane September. (This blog post appearing is a partial fruit from one of those devotions which encouraged me to stop overthinking things and create.)

I'm remembering how vital my crock pot is if we want to have a hot dinner on a work day.

I have completed 8 of my 21 days of working out goal for this month!

I have done some hard stops for prayer, gazing on beauty, snuggling one of my loves and remembering how to breathe deeply.

One of the discoveries in this season of transition is that I have believed that busy=bad. My sweet, slow-paced summer schedule has been swapped out for one that is much more highly charged with many responsibilities and activities that are looking for a place within my week. I have found myself feeling shame over how full my schedule is and afraid that some punishment like physical illness or emotional burnout is my debt to pay for this choice.

God has been showing me that heart stewardship is central. When I am walking closely with Him, leaning into His strength and receiving His mercies for my day, then I have the resources that I need to handle whatever happens that day. When I rely on my own efforts and strive to accomplish all of the tasks that I have determined are essential, then I feel overwhelmed and burdened no matter how much  free time and space that I have in my schedule.

I have also been learning that I can pause and reflect before I say "Yes" or "No" to things. Often my initial reaction to a request is based on a desire to please the other person, an automatic yes because it's one more thing that I can add to the list of things that are already in motion for me without thinking about it or an automatic no because it interferes with my beautifully self-determined, controlled plan for my life. Taking time to stop and ask myself and/or God questions like, "Will this bring me life?" "Can I offer this freely, without expectation or regret?" and "What would happen if I say No?" has been very helpful.  Saying No, especially when it leaves someone else feeling disappointed or frustrated, has been hard. Maintaining a sense of wholeheartedness in the midst of a very busy schedule and season of life has felt exhilarating.

I also continue to hold questions in my heart about my identity, my role and my purpose in this season and how I can be fully present and engaged in every area of my life. As much as I would like to have a solid answer to cling to with regard to these questions, I am choosing to embrace the mystery of the unknown and to allow things to become clear over time.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Transition

 It's snowing outside my window. It just started to stick a little bit. I can see it on the trees and covering the leaves. This is the first snow of the season. It means change is coming. Fall coats are no longer be sufficient. Hats, scarves and gloves become a part of my daily wardrobe. My car needs time to warm up and I should fill up with gas when it gets down to 1/4 tank. I really like this time of year. Fall is ending and winter is coming. I like snuggling in front of a fire and wearing sweaters. I like drinking hot chocolate, apple cider and spice tea, in addition to my usual coffee consumption. I like Thanksgiving, the holiday and the practice. While I welcome this change in season, I am so aware of how I am struggling in my own transition. I have spent several hours contacting insurance companies to change my name now that I am doing business as Jody Striker, LCPC. Ben is still collecting our things from the various places where we have been storing them. Th
1 comment
Read more

How do I like being married?

People keep asking me how I like being married. I get it. I’m adjusting to a major life transition. People are excited for me and this is an easy way for them to enter into my joy. They ask this question and I start gushing. I say that I love it. It’s wonderful. Yes, we’re settling in well, there in the basement of my parents house. I may mention that Ben has been hanging things in our room and brought furniture out of storage to make our space more like home. If the conversation lasts long enough and becomes more intimate, I may even tell them that some of my favorite things are when we pray together in the morning and he makes me coffee to help me wake up. I like when we fall asleep with hands and toes just barely touching; in our space, but still nearby. I like calling him my husband and hearing him say that I’m his wife. Being married has been wonderfully different and also surprisingly the same. My life at work, for example, feels exactly like it did before I w
1 comment
Read more

3 weeks ago today

I got married three weeks ago today. I’ve been thinking a lot about our wedding since that day. This was my first week back to work, which meant that I got to talk a lot about that day and show pictures, because everything is still fresh and new and people are anxious to know how it went. I have missed writing. Several times during our honeymoon, I almost grabbed my laptop because I had the urge to write. I never did, but I wanted to. I think that it felt too intimate to record in some ways. And, in others, I was just enjoying being lazy and carefree. I plan to write about what I remember from my wedding. (Maybe even some things from our honeymoon. We shall see…) I don’t know what I will share, but I want to make a record of my memories and experiences from that day. Just three weeks later, but the feelings are less vivid and the mental pictures are less crisp. Fortunately, our photographer did an amazing job and I am thankful that I have those images to remind me.
2 comments
Read more