This morning as Gary and I were walking around our little town of Cambridge with friends we knew from South Africa, I saw a sight that sparked this blog. We were admiring the little town clock tower when we walked under a tree and a burst of colour out of the corner of my eye grabbed my attention. I stopped and went back to take a photo and the phrase “a promise of what’s to come” popped into my head.
It was an unusual sight to see because it was the only part of the tree that had the bright colour, the rest of the tree is still bright green. The day was hot and at that time no hint of what we would associate with the turning of the leaves, although it was pretty chilly this morning before the sun came out in all it’s heated glory.
It made me wonder how often we can miss the warning signs of what it to come because we aren’t really looking for them. Not just for bad things but for good things too. In every season of our lives and business they are signs that show us of the season to follow. If we are looking for them and attuned to them we can be ahead of the curve.
The challenge is most people are uncomfortable with change and are often looking for signs that things are the same so they can hold onto what is comfortable and safe. This often leaves them unprepared for the change when it does come. When we are resistant to change we become protective of the way it has always been and we are defend the old and become suspicious of the new, even if we don’t like what the OLD looks like.
The thing is, growth is always in the realm of change, growth is always leading us to land we haven’t explore before and is always uncomfortable, because it takes us out of our comfort zone. But the alternative to that is decline, just because we stay the same doesn’t mean we can stop time and life around us, just as in nature, if something isn’t growing, it is unfortunately dying. When we refuse to grow in an area of our lives we get into a crazy eight which is a pattern of either sadness or angry that leads us to unhelpful behaviours that distract us from the monotony of the crazy eight. This is no way to live. It is a great delay tactic for the enemy of your soul though.
So today,
- ask God to open your eyes to see the signs of the seasons that are opening to you in your life, relationships or business,
- ask for wisdom and creative ideas on what to do in this next season and then
- show up, risk even failing. Failure is just feedback, it is not who you are, it means you are growing and alive.
What do you see in your life at the moment that looks like it is turning? Look for the opportunity in it….
