I enjoyed our Autumn Girls Night Out so much and I hope everyone that came did too. After I spoke I still felt that there were some things that I wanted to share but didn't get to cover. I've divided them into 3 parts and will share them over the next few weeks here on my blog.
Last Monday night I talked a little bit about embracing change. That always means letting go of the old. Whether "the old" was a good season or a not-so-good season we still need to let it go in order to set the stage for "the new".
I shared a little bit about one of those changing seasons in my life. It was the year that my oldest son graduated high school and I was beginning to feel the first effects of my season of raising children transitioning into the season of letting them go. At the same time my grandparents' health was failing and I was beginning to realize that I didn't have very much longer with them here on earth. Those things combined with some health issues made for a pretty emotionally miserable me.
On one particular afternoon, during the week that we were packing my son's things up to move him away to college, I was driving home from work and heard the Stevie Nicks song "Landslide". It goes like this...
Well I've been afraid of changing, 'cos I built my life around you
But time makes you bolder children get older
I'm getting older too
So, you can imagine the scene...I could hardly see the road for the tears pouring out of my eyes and down my cheeks. I was bawling my eyes out. It wasn't bad enough my son was leaving but to add insult to injury...I'M GETTING OLDER TOO!!!
I know it's just a song but it touched a nerve. Up until that point, to some degree, I had "built my life around" being a mom. A mom with all of her kids at home with her in the same house, sleeping under the same roof every night. Now that was changing.
Later in the song it asks the question:
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Those questions cut right to the core of what I was feeling. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever been in a season where you find yourself asking..."can I handle this?"
Let me help you out with that one. The answer is an unequivocal YES! You can handle this and any season when you know who is writing your story and who is holding the plan for your life in His hands.
This was God's promise to the Israelites when they were living in exile, removed from their comfort zone, out in no-man's land without a clear picture of what the future would bring:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
I believe the promises recorded in the Bible are there for us to grab onto to carry us through the seasons of our lives.
It was during that stormy season of my life that God began to give me ideas and visions of what has evolved into For the Girls International. It's amazing how even in the darkest of times God will whisper to you plans that He has for your future.
I encourage you to take the time to press your ear in close to Him to hear those whispers. Even if it seems like a crazy idea or something so far off or out of the box...write it down. Tuck it away so that when He asks you to begin to step out you are ready.
Part of embracing change is allowing yourself to "feel" it. There's a difference between allowing yourself to feel it and dwelling on it to the point that is pulls you down to a place of hopelessness. It's unrealistic to think we can "sail through the changing ocean tides" without getting doused with a little saltwater so don't beat yourself up if you find yourself shedding a salty tear or two. On the other hand, we don't need to drown in our sorrows either.
When you find yourself in that place of emotional "landslide" start talking to yourself. Grab hold of the promises that God has clearly given you and embrace your changing season as an essential element of your destiny.
Check back in the coming weeks for Parts 2 and 3!
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