Embracing New and Uncertain Beginnings
I was gifted this book as a parting gift from a special colleague I hold dear to my heart. Our conversation was one of mutual understanding. Sometimes we get caught up in work and we forget to step back and look at the deeper meaning of life.
I had the great privilege of spending 3 years with a lovely company that taught me a lot about business, relationships and perseverance. It was during this time I fell in love with Supply chain and Logistics and decided to pursue my education further. Honestly speaking, before I started working there I knew nothing about the field and was trained completely from scratch by the company who helped me start my career. The job was one I knew was God given because I had gotten it 3 months before I was due to get married, during COVID, and right after a dry spell of more than a year applying for jobs with no luck.
Listen when you hear the term God qualifies the unqualified, it's 100% true. I am that person.
When my friend gave me the book, she reminded me that our job is one aspect of our lives and we are much more than that. Honestly, I was going so much that I realized I was losing parts of myself to fatigue. I felt God calling me to a new chapter of this strange book I call my life. While I understood and agreed with her words of embracing an exciting path, I was also struggling with letting it go.
You see, my time there, my experience, my life had intertwined and revolved around this job and the people there. It's not always easy to leave a place that was instrumental to one's growth, accomplishments and development. Yet, moving on is necessary to learn, experience and bloom. Learning to cope with letting go is now essential. Holding fast to the decision to obey even when the next step is somewhat unclear. Taking a leap of faith without regret and being confident that God has a bestselling chapter He's ready to reveal for you.
Needless to say, I knew the book was going to speak to me but I didn't expect it to be in the very first story by Nichole Nordeman (A Time to Tear; A Time to Mend). The message was clear in learning to let go of the "then" in order to embrace the "now".
My reflections have led me to this:
1. We are created with Purpose to make an impact in the lives of those around us. And in our giving (to those around us, to our jobs, to our homes, education etc), we must also take time to replenish ourselves and remind ourselves that we must not lose the reason and passion that makes us who we are. When we do this, only then can we continue to give 100%. Your career is only a couple drops in your ocean. Maybe 5% of the 60% of water we are made up of.
There's more to us than our 8-5. We must nurture it and make our short time on this earth mean something.
2. It may take a leap of faith but if you leave your life in God's hands, His Will will take you all the way. God requires us to do difficult things. Leaving a comfortable place to go into the vast unknown is a difficult thing. I've done it on many occasions and it's scary every time. But! I'll do it again and again because when God speaks, He sees you through.
3. Your relationships with those around you are essential. Never forget how people imparted into your life and never forget to impart goodness into others (even when some people didn't impart happy experiences to you). In every exchange, a lesson can be learnt and however you choose to take that lesson will make the difference in how you view and progress in life. Cherish everyone you meet and every piece of wisdom you've gained in your meeting.
4. Lastly, be grateful always for every experience on your journey. For every person you met, every challenge you faced and every accomplishment you've made.... Even the mistakes that taught you. Being grateful gives you a different drive to face any circumstance without overly stressing. I'm grateful to God for my experience. I'll never forget it and I'll never forget the people I worked with who were very much like family to me.
Change is inevitable. Embrace it. Water it. Hang in there even though letting go is hard. You don't need to let go of your memories or relationships you've built. Let go of the weight that prevents you from moving forward. Let God do the rest.
Cheers to new beginnings, growth and rejuvenation to us all in the coming year!