Post #66- A Change is Gonna Come

Listen Here and/or Read Below

“You’re not in trouble, you’re in transition."

~Bishop Carlton Pearson

I want to discuss a topic that’s been on my mind and heart for a while now, yet my schedule and the recent holiday hasn’t allowed me the time needed to write/blog as often as I’d like (you know, it takes a real investment of time to sit and think and process what I want to say and how I want to say it). So, here I am with SO MUCH I want to say that I’m not sure where to start.

Let me begin with honesty and vulnerability.  Earlier today I almost had a panic attack as I experienced a flash of insecurity and fear that is usually invoked during New Year’s Eve.  I’m very aware that it’s related to my prior life experiences. The first experience is that of isolation and abandonment from my childhood (watching the Ball drop at Times Square…alone, usually left me feeling lonely and uniquely secluded and separated from the rest of the world). Secondly, after my separation and subsequent divorce and as a newly single person I had a particularly bad New Year’s Eve experience that left me searching for the “perfect” party yet feeling out-of-the-loop and yet again alone and rejected. However, I didn’t allow this “attack” to plummet my day into a blah, mainly because I now realize that I am in transition, and for my own healing’s sake, old wounds will resurface and difficult moments must be confronted.

This is often the process of change. It doesn’t always feel good. It ain’t always pretty, but it’s vitally necessary. And as sure I am of my own name; I feel in my soul that a change is upon me.

Now, I don’t believe the turn of the calendar year holds any special magic, however I do think it can offer us a convenient opportunity to reflect. And while I’ve been thinking about the phenomena of change and transition for a couple of months now, I don’t see it as merely accidental that I begin this conversation with you at the brink of a new year.

For the last couple of months I have felt the undeniable energy and momentum of change in my life (and I can’t believe that I’m the only one). Don’t get me wrong, nothing has particularly changed in my life (except a new “friend”…but I digress) but within myself I feel the winds of change. Have you ever experienced that? Have you ever felt within yourself that it was time for a change, and while you can’t quite articulate the what or why or where, you just “feel” or “know” that a change is on the horizon.

The above quote by Carlton Pearson is one of my favorites because it speaks to the uncomfortable, stressful and sometimes painful experiences that bring about change in our lives. Scripture teaches that weeping endures for a night but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5) and we’re often reminded that the darkest moment of the night is right before the break of day. I don’t believe that change has to be accompanied by trauma, heartbreak, or devastation, but I have come to the conclusion that, when we’re awake and fully present for our lives, we will discern that which is often mistaken as trouble as an actual conduit for transition.

So, as we begin the new year I want to talk about change and transition. Please follow the blog (as time permits me to write) as we talk about the process of moving from one place to another and how we might be helpful participants in that process rather than obstacles to the zeitgeist of progress.  And most importantly I want to simply offer you this proclamation: Be not afraid; you’re not in trouble, you’re in transition.  We must understand that change is an inevitable part of life and our success will be determined on how well we embrace it.  So, let’s take the opportunity of a new year to evaluate where we have been and (in some ways more importantly) where we are going. Because….

This is not the end of our story. Our best days are not behind us; they are ahead of us. Change can be difficult, it can be painful, but it can also be exciting and it is always inevitable. So, let’s embrace it and move from good to great, better to best and prepare ourselves to receive all of the #bigthingscoming.

NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read the first (introductory) post. Also, feel free to post your questions or comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using the hash tag #bigthingscoming.

(Copyright, 2013, Ray Jordan)