This time of year is one of transition…from long summer days to crisp and colorful fall ones, from summer camps and vacations to school. It is a time of change for all of us, yet surely more marked changes for some than others.
A friend said to me yesterday, “I can count on two things: God and change, and the former helps me handle the latter.” This is woman who has moved her family eight times in her 30 years of marriage due to her husband’s job. I would say that the two things she counts on are spot-on and have worked beautifully for her.
There are transitions that are more emotionally wrenching than others–the death of a loved one; the loss of a job or a marriage; the end of a once comfortable and respectful friendship. These changes can impact us in powerfully emotional and logistical ways.
Each of us has internal resources we can draw upon–for instance, our understanding of and belief in ourselves and in our faith. Each of us has external resources we can draw upon as well: family, friends, mentors and our faith communities.
It is through our internal and external resources that our confidence in being able to handle such transitions can take hold. As my Grandfather Peale once said, “Believe in yourself as being capable of overcoming all obstacles and weaknesses.”
From my own personal experience with transitions (some of them painful), I can say that my belief in my internal and external resources buoyed me as I navigated through.
This is not to say that a belief in yourself and the supports surrounding you make for seamless transitions, yet it can provide the foundation from which you can gain the strength and the confidence to take action when and where necessary to get through the challenge at hand.
I think often about Guideposts Foundation’s materials getting into the hands of those who are facing exciting and painful transitions in their lives. Words in a Guideposts booklet that bolster someone’s spiritual foundation.
A response from an OurPrayer volunteer that offers support and God’s love to someone with an urgent prayer request. The booklet Triumph Over Life’s Toughest Problems going to a soldier dealing with adversity on deployment far from home.
Thank you for your support of Guideposts Foundation’s Outreach Ministries, which provides these materials and services to those in need, giving hope and comfort to millions.
I like to think of each of these offerings Guideposts Foundation shares with our world as reinforcements to the internal and external resources of every individual who is blessed to be touched by them.
