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Spring Forward

I have been looking forward to Spring approaching since the last below zero, bitter cold, windy Chicago weather storm that caused me to ask “Why do we live here again?” It’s not like the cold is something new to us, since we grew up in Michigan. However, this past winter has been a little colder than I could bare. But it is something about the anticipation of Spring that gets me excited. I feel like if you can make it through the bitter cold of winter, you can get through anything. Sounds like life, right?

I’ve been going through a lot of transitional stages in my life this past year and a half. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful husband and some great friends that have not judged me at all in this process. I say that because sometimes you do get people that are like, okay she is changing what she is doing again? You can see it in their eyes, even though they don’t say a word. You can hear it in their voice, even though they try to sound positive about your next move. But then you get peers that tell you that you are their inspiration and it makes you feel encouraged that perhaps you are on the right track.

The other day I was at a sorority meeting and of my sisters asked me how the new job was coming. I promptly stated (in the midst of laughing) that my last day is the 15th and I am currently training my replacement. I went on to let her know that it wasn’t the people I worked for (who are just wonderful mentors from Heaven!), it was the position. I had a lot of revelations about what I am called to do and what I am just doing because it is there to do. Every position I have held in a job including this current one, has been preparing me for my purpose. What surprised me about her response was that she said I was her inspiration. A lot of times we are our own worst critics. So it is not a surprise that I have not really felt like an inspiration to the people around me. But feeling like one and being one are two different things. I told her that I felt like I have been bouncing around and all over the place at times, but she continued to say that I was an encouragement because I would try things and if I didn’t like them, I would move on. She said you see what you want and you go for it, if it isn’t something you like, you move on. I was encouraged by this because there are times in life where we feel like we are all over the place, wandering and wondering on what we are supposed to be doing in life. There are times where we really don’t feel like inspirations to people, but those are the times where we are pressing in and pressing through. Those are the times where people are inspired. They are inspired by your inner strength, by the fact that you are taking on new challenges, not worrying about if it is right or about what people think. They are inspired by your tenacity, your perseverence, and your courage. One of my closest friends recently lost her mother and was laid off a couple of months later. She is my inspiration because, despite her losses, she is pressing through to do what she has been called to do. She is moving forward in running her own business and continuing on her mother’s legacy.

I think that a lot of us have been trained to stick things out until the very end. Stay the course, finish the race, don’t quit (even if you don’t like what you are doing). I am learning that if you don’t quit on life, you can continue to try new things and move from one job to the next until you find your calling. Great things have come from this job, I have built great relationships with two wonderful people who I consider to be mentors. I have learned the things I like to do (and don’t like to do). If I had not taken this position, I feel like I would have been wondering even more what I am supposed to be doing in this season of my life. I have gained some new skills to go forward and I feel like finally, my personal winter is about to warm up and I can finally Spring Forward into my purpose in life. But then again, I feel like I’ve been living my purpose all along and every experience is just bringing me closer to the complete manifestation of it being a blessing and inspiration to the masses.

© 2007 DahGurl.