Starting fresh

Are your Instagram and Facebook feeds full of teachers and moms talking about preparing for the new school year?  All the talk makes me feel like we have a little reset button and we get a fresh start. I could use a fresh start. How about you?

Several years ago, my life had come to a fork in the road. I was working with two very different ministries. Each of them resonated with issues I was passionate about but I was struggling. I felt like I was torn in two and it was time to choose. With no idea which way to go, I cried out to God.

I decided to take a day off to fast and pray…before I lost my mind. I was staying at a friend’s place out in the country so I had plenty of wide-open space. Being outside helps me turn everything else off and focus. I sat on the back porch and poured it all out to the God Who I knew loved me and Who I believed had brought me to this fork. My conversation went something like:

Lord, I am going to spend a little time reading your Word but then I really need to hear from You. I need to know where you want me? What direction do I take? And I’m not leaving until I hear from You!

Soon, I sensed this “prompting” to make a list of things I’d done, positions I’d held or roles I’d played up to that point. After I had listed all the main points, I wrote what kind of gift or skill was required for each one. Next to that, I wrote if I was successful or good at it, or not, and then, if I honestly enjoyed it. Once I was finished, I was amazed to see the thread of where God had taken me.  While I didn’t have a clear picture of what I would be doing, I could see how God was leading me and I had a few next steps. I took each one until the new role was made abundantly clear.

I hadn’t heard of “life-mapping” but essentially that’s what God had prompted me to do. Today, there are all kinds of tools and programs to help you do something similar. But if you like simple and you’re looking for a fresh start, direction or confirmation, then I encourage you to do what I did.

Young woman,

Are you at a place where you have vision and direction for how God is leading you? YAY! But if you feel like God is stirring something new in you, make a simple life map.

1. Start with prayer. If you want to know how God is leading you or what He’s doing, you have to ask Him. And ask His Spirit to guide you through this little process.
2. Make a list of roles you’ve played and things you’ve done. Don’t worry about every detail. Just put the ones that really stick out to you – good or bad.
3. Turn your list into a chart and make a note of the gifts, spiritual gifts, talents or abilities each role required.
4. Next to that write if you were successful or good in this role, or not.
5. And next to that, write if you honestly enjoyed it.
6. Plot it out on a timeline.

Where have you been? Where are you going? I’d LOVE to know!