Progressing Through Changes

Well . . . it's done! (at least some of it is anyway)

Work schedule has been changed. I'm working on Monday nights and Tuesday and Friday mornings. I'm sure that's not exciting news to anyone really, but actually, it's big. The office manager at work went right to calculating and figuring. She saw that with other changes in personnel, "This change is going to work quite well actually!". Interesting for sure!

The progressive changes will be as I get people trained for the other ministries. We're just one week on this track, so it will take a few more, I'm sure. It's a little more demanding of me at this time because I'm not only actually doing the work, I'm teaching as I work. In the next few weeks, the change over will come as I begin to watch others do the work. All of those leadership training things I've read for years are helping at this point. Thank you John Maxwell!

I'm wondering what I'm supposed to do with myself after all of this? A good friend was praying for me and sent an email with some thoughts. I'm going to include them in my blog so I'll have them recorded (and I can clean out my email).

She said:

As I was praying for you today I sensed a couple of things that I want to submit to you for consideration.
1) Keep your schedule open to alot time to seek Him in the midst of this transition (as you would call it - a place of change).
2) This is a time to be quieting your spirit and listening to Him, focusing on Him, and being in His presence. It is the cocoon stage.
3) Your value to Him is not based on WHAT you do for Him, but who you ARE in Him! Don't look for a place to fit or belong.
4) There is a new season coming - you will spread your wings and fly. But this is the preparation time! Be patient!

It's nice to know others are praying for me. Those words are almost identical to what has been said to me in times past as well. Thankfully God is still faithfully trying to get it through to me. I'm looking for that place to be alone with Him for more than a couple of minutes. (OK, are you trying to guess WHERE I was suggesting?)

Cocoon stage? I need to look up more on that I think.

The Cocoon

Cocooning is the third stage in transformation and it is a time of rest and emptiness. Cocooning refers to people who withdraw from the world and prefer to stay home and enjoy simple pleasures. Men and women might cocoon by leaving their highly paid, high stress jobs with large organizations to work at home for themselves or to a lower-paid job with less responsibility. This also happens when individuals take a sabbatical to meditate and reflect on their life purpose, or move to the country for a more peaceful environment. You might cocoon and still remain in your present job but now you decide to work only eight, not twelve hour days, refuse to take work home and instead, spend your evenings and weekends with family and friends. Cocooning is an inner time. On the surface it doesn’t appear as if much is happening, but inside the cocoon the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly is occurring. At this time in our human evolution many men and women are going through this cocoon stage. They know that being an egg or a caterpillar are no longer options. They have the desire to become a butterfly and so withdraw from their previous ways of being to reflect and meditate. These individuals are creating a space to allow the universe to complete their process of transformation. We become what we must be and by surrendering to the process of divine will, our transformation will naturally take place.