Transformative Change: The Best is Yet to Come, Really!

The house echoed with boisterous voices, the whirl of carts, and the thump of boxes being stacked. Finally, the last paper signed, the moving truck doors slammed shut. My husband and I sank into the couch and reveled in the silence. Little did I know a transition was about to begin – one that would rock my world. A transformative change that revealed the best is yet to come, really.

I wonder if you have been there – everything that you are familiar with — is taken away or changed completely, suddenly.

Maybe you are experiencing this right now.

Keep reading, there is good news.

Well, back to my story.

Suddenly our hearts sank; as we surveyed the room, brimming with boxes, our fears were confirmed. Our new home was overfilled. We had moved too much stuff.

Radical Change Begins: Transformative Change

I soon found it was not just my physical space that had been greatly reduced.

I had left a full life in Omaha: a job I enjoyed, supportive friends a dynamic church and a vibrant area of service.

I am no stranger to moving. But this move was different. This move caused me to wrestle with my identity; with what gave me value.

A painful process began to unfold.  

Unexpectedly, due to delayed surgery, I would be unable to return to work for a year. A gaping hole in my life opened.

New areas of service did not emerge. A place where I could make a difference.

Friendships did not blossom.

Have you experienced this? When all you have known or taken for granted evaporates. 

The Best is Yet to Come, Really?

I felt alone; emptiness echoed in my home and in my heart.

If someone had given me the advice the best is yet to come, I would have laughed in disbelief!

The future looked bleak.

Like me, you may even question if God still has a plan for you. Would He still use me?

Had my value vanished?

I prayed. What did God want me to do? I had many ideas and suggestions I offered for His consideration. (I wonder if He laughed or just smiled.)

I received an unexpected answer:

¹⁰ “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

    I will be exalted among the nations,

    I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

Being still is hard for me. Maybe it is for you too.

But I started right where I was; at first for a short time, but incrementally the time I remained still grew longer.

As I was still, just being in His presence, I became calmer. I exhaled and waited.

Craving this calmness, I looked for opportunities to be still.

My days took on a slower rhythm.

Gradually, (and reluctantly), I integrated the truth that it was He, God, who was in control, not me.  

Enveloped in the stillness, God revealed I had absorbed the lie that continual busyness pleased Him.

I realized – and was astounded – that my perceived unproductivity opened the door allowing anxiety to insidiously creep in. Once consistently confronted (time and again) it faded away.

I began to shed the identity of I am what I do.

A belief that I was loved by God the Father because I was His beloved child emerged; allowing me to radically change how I defined my value.

A New Life Emerges from the Old

As I rested in God’s love, this verse resonated:

¹⁸ “But forget all that—

    it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.

¹⁹ For I am about to do something new.

    See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?

I will make a pathway through the wilderness.

    I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NLT)

My past experiences had been good, but now I needed to become ready for something new.

Something that He would initiate. Not an idea I developed based on past successes.

Energized by the idea of a pathway through the wilderness (of my loneliness), I spent more time studying the Bible. I listened to Him and was still.

I craved refreshment. Rivers in the dry wasteland – yes! I waited expectantly.

Transformative Change: The Best is Yet to Come, Really!

Change has started.

Service opportunities emerge, different ones. He is doing something new.

New friendships are blossoming slowly, but beautifully.

Pathways in the wilderness are opening – I feel the refreshment – of the rivers in the wastelands mentioned in verse 19. My peace has returned.

God is doing something new. And, the wastelands are starting to bloom and come alive.

I boldly (well most of the time) seize new opportunities as God provides them. I take risks. The old ways are being forgotten.

My life is becoming more colorful and richer; I am being re-filled with joy.

But I believe that He is not finished with me. The best is yet to come: His best.

He wants to do the same for you.

I enthusiastically wait for the next step in the adventure. How about you; are you ready to step out into the new?

Photo credits in order of appearance: Debby Hudson on Unsplash, Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash and, Nicolas J Leclercq on Unsplash,