You’ve left your job, the last season just ended, you’ve changed roles, or you’ve had a relationship shift or change.
Once you let go of it, how do you start a new season?
Too often, we miss out on the next season because we hold on to the last season. As a friend said to me once, “I feel like you are making me pay for the things someone else did.” This is easy to do, and if we do it, we will miss out on the future that God has for us.
We also need to have a clear vision for the future and the next season so that we not only experience all that God has for us but so that we enjoy it.
I shared recently how to let go of your last season. Today, I want to share how to move into a new season, some of the things I’ve learned moving to Massachusetts.
1. What do you hope for in the future? List out what you hope happens, all the prayers you are praying, all the things you are hoping God does, all the places and experiences you are hoping happen. This is so important because you can simply get started in the busyness of a new season.
For us, it was a monumental task to move across the country, and it was easy to hit the ground running here. But stop and ask, “Now that we are here, what does God want to do? Why has God brought us to this place this season? What does God have in mind for us?” If you are moving into a new role, you were chosen, not someone else. So why you? This is important whether you moved for a job or got promoted.
If you are entering a new season of marriage or parenting, what do you hope for in this next season? It could be as simple as more sleep, but write it out. This helps to create a vision of the future, a way to plan and pray as you move forward.
2. Ask the right questions. This applies to any new season, but I want to focus on entering a new role at work.
When I knew we were leaving Tucson, I read Every Pastor’s First 180 Days: How to Start and Stay Strong in a New Church Job by Charles Stone, and in it, he lists out questions you should ask people in your new church. So, over this past month, I have been asking staff, elders, and people in the church the following questions:
- What is going well at Community Covenant Church (CCC)?
- What is not going well at CCC?
- What is one thing about CCC you hope doesn’t change?
- What is one thing about CCC you hope does change?
- What burning questions would you like to ask me?
- If money weren’t an issue, what would be your next full-time hire(s) and why?
- If you were in my shoes, what would you focus on first?
- How can I pray for you?
The answers have been insightful for me as I’m learning the church’s culture and where people are. But I’m also getting a sense of what is stirring in the people of the church and what God has placed on their hearts, which has been so helpful for me.
As you move into a new season, whether in your personal or professional life, ask people ahead of you what you need to know. One of my favorite questions to ask is, “What question should I be asking that I’m not?” This has been really helpful in my personal life regarding the different seasons of marriage and parenting.
3. Take a breath and a step. Calmly, but courageously step into the next season. Whether that is a new season in marriage, parenting, your career, or a hobby, step into it. We are parenting teens and tweens now. The toddler days are over. I can lament what once was, but I will miss all that this next season of life has to offer if I do.
Figure out as many of the exciting things that lay ahead, all the adventures awaiting you, and step into them. Don’t look back. Look forward to it and enjoy it!
