Shake, Transition, Roll

This short work week has felt like two weeks. The launch of Midlink went very well, better than expected, yet still with a few flaws that can be adjusted and tweaked by next Wednesday. Taking a vacation beforehand was critical to navigating the unknown and the more treacherous known.

In between all the busyness of work and life, there were a few chances for me to grab a little reading time. I came across an article about shaking up your thought patterns. This technical business article, heavy on technical, is written to help us keep our brains from the preferred comfortable patterns of learning and processing information. Basically don't always accept the status quo, shake things up a little. I skimmed the technical part because my brain has been trained to glance over anything that looks mathematical or has to do with words that look mathematical. The article encourages the asking of subjective questions to staff and co-workers. The questions in themselves are innocuous at first, but open up the opportunity for creative treasures to burst forth with energy. As I read through the questions and realized for me to answer them would take much more thought and reflection because my brain hadn't answered questions like this for a long time. Again simple questions that hold a wealth of truth. I think the reason why there isn't always a lot of discussion when situations are open to discussion is fear. People seem afraid of answering any type of subjective questions in deference to the fact the one usually asking the question holds the key of longevity of employment. There are those who have certainly kept their brains in shape in this area and given the opportunity, they smother others participation with obtuse and verbose comments. Certainly, these are factors. In our staff meeting Tuesday, our Pastor related the difficulties of the new, but the positive end results of investing the time and travel through the twist and turns of adjustment. His volunteer research team read commentaries and other resources. Their ability to take 500 pages and then produce the main thoughts and facts into 5 pages is huge in freeing up Gregg to study, pray and let God show him new and creative ways to teach the congregation.

The article wants to be edgy and jump into the trend of life and business coaching. There is nothing new under the sun, Romans 12:2- renewing the mind. God created our brains, He know how the channels are formed and the brains propensity to routine... and God prompted Paul to write, "but be transformed (changed) by the (entire) renewal of your mind (by its new ideals and its new attitude), so that you may prove (for yourselves) what is good, and acceptable and the perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect (in His sight for you.) Amplified version...

Transformation and transitional times are to me are the most difficult times. There is a lot of waiting involved, nothing seems routine and comfortable. The best picture is moving from one place to another. There is a transitional time when neither place is home...there is still stuff to be sorted through and moved to the new place. In the new place is all the familiars of life we've moved over, but they're not in the right or new spot we want them. We are so drawn to the new that we don't really want to go back to the old and clear it out cleanly and neatly.

So there is where I am right now and probably where most of us find ourselves the majority of time in transition.... I don't know how or what it looks like, but during this season of transition for me, I am going to shake it up a little...not let my brain lead me in the safe and familiar ways of processing... Gonna renew my mind with the Word and ask the Creator of Heaven and Earth to hover over the chaos of my life that seems without shape and void and create in me something so beautiful, He can step back and say, it is good.