Transition: The Whisper of Wow
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you each had a lovely holiday with your family and friends. Ours was low key and just what we needed. Next weekend we have our final event for the foundation here in our hometown. I’m ready to check off all the to-do boxes for the year and begin working on some passion projects in December.
I’ve been thinking a lot about transition these last couple months. I am always conscious of my desire to grow and evolve. I’m ever assessing where I’m at and where I want to be. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of listening.
What is whispering in my ear?
What is pulling me?
What things are completed?
What should be continued and perhaps evolved?
What new callings are on the horizon?
Some questions you might want to think and journal about too as this year is winding down.
I wrote the following words a couple years ago and am re-sharing (with edits) as they are a good reminder to listen to what is calling to you. What “wow” is captivating your heart these days?
Photograph by Jacob Campbell
THE WHISPER OF WOW
Do you recall a moment where you just knew something? A thought or message stops you in your tracks. Something previously foggy becomes crystal clear. Or perhaps it’s a new thought. Something you hadn’t previously considered. A truth comes through.
Maybe you don't know it consciously, but something about that moment seers your soul. Jolted, moved, impacted. Maybe you don't realize the clarity of the moment at the time, but in retrospect, it's crystal clear.
And maybe you work really hard to deny this truth. You convince yourself it's not a message for you. Easily rationalizing over and around this deep truth.
Moments like this are defining. They make us say WOW! Sometimes it's a WOW! that's in awe of love, the beauty of life. And others times it's a disappointed, shocked WOW! Sometimes for sure, it's a damn it, WOW!
Listen to the message that startles your soul. The jolt that makes it clear you better listen up. These moments are life steering. Deep defining messages. Gifts hidden. Freedom waiting.
Perhaps it's hard to discern why you feel jolted or what that message means. Okay so you sit with it. You whisper a prayer "help me to know...to discern" and helpers arrive on the scene. Maybe in two hours or in two months the answer arrives. You commit to wait.
Or maybe you are desiring a message, a sign, a signal about what's next. Maybe you fall asleep each night asking God for a sign, for a helper. These can be times of frustration and impatience. The message in that moment may be, "not yet". And so that's a "WOW! I need to listen, I need to sit with this, I need to wait". And so you wait. You watch. You listen.
Sometimes these moments come from a comment directed at you that really ticks you off (this has happened to me). "How dare they say that?" You feel injured, shaken, offended. These are the moments that beg you to listen. They are a revealing mirror reflecting truth. Maybe the message comes as you are witnessing the beauty of nature or the wonder of your children. Maybe it comes when you are on your knees crippled in despair.
These are moments that give you a push. In these beautiful, revealing moments ask God what you can learn. Ask life what it's trying to teach you. Then listen for the answer. Wait until it comes. Don't clank around creating noise with a luster of activity so loud you cannot hear the message.
Sit and listen.
Open your ears, don't deny your deepest knowing. Make space. Invite in the discomfort. Consider the message made just for you. Breathe it in. Feel peace.
As the bustle of the holidays approaches, carve out space for yourself. I keep a journal in my purse and paper and pen in my car. When an idea strikes or I hear something I want to go back to during my quiet time, I can easily recall it. Be listening, be conscious, be on the look out for messages calling to you. If something calls to you and you want to share, I’d love to hear from you.
Sunday Love to each of you.
Jessica
Source: Unsplash
