“Everybody loves change providing it’s their idea!”
I’ve said that a few times over the years, and yet here we are on a surprising journey as a Zeo family pursuing God’s new vision and values for Zeo.
Last Sunday I spoke about the challenge of living between miracles, mysteries and mess – particularly as we forge ahead together. I want to pause for a second and remind you of the three stages – and emotions – of change that we will all experience.
Stage 1: Letting go of what has been – All new beginnings start with an ending, and the powerful emotion we feel is loss/grief. We liked the way things were, and it can feel sad that things are moving on.
Stage 2: Living in the messy middle – We know we’ve left something behind, but we’ve not yet arrived at the new. It’s an uncertain place. No man’s land. The wilderness. The powerful emotion we feel is anxiety. Have we made a terrible mistake?
Stage 3: Laying hold of the new – There comes a moment when we have to embrace the new thing that God is doing. To step into the promise. The powerful emotion we feel now is fear. Will it work out ok?
Now there’s good news and bad news with these stages.
The bad news is that it’s likely we’ll feel we’re living in them all at the same time. The stages aren’t linear. We can feel loss, anxiety and fear simultaneously. Don’t worry. There’s nothing wrong with us. It simply means we’re human. Change is hard.
But now the good news.
We can be real with God, and with each other, about what we’re feeling.
We can help each other be courageous and brave.
We can ask the Holy Spirit to comfort us, strengthen us, encourage us, and help us keep holding on to Jesus.
We can give time and attention to listening to God and each other.
AND we can keep going! He’s got a plan and we can trust Him.
I’m praying that Jesus will keep us close to Him and each other. We can do this. It might get a little messy, but it’s going to be amazing! No pain, no gain, eh?
