Navigating Change Through Faith & Courage

Have you ever found yourself paralyzed by anxiety on a seemingly simple task? Buckle up as I recount the unexpected adventure of driving my nephews to school through unfamiliar routes and bustling highways. This tale isn't just about managing road trips but navigating the inner landscapes of fear and change. Discover how this moment of panic was transformed into an opportunity for personal growth and why confronting the unknown can unlock hidden strengths within us. Reflect on the delicate dance between controlling our reactions and surrendering to life’s unpredictable nature.

Let me pray with you as you embark on a new journey. This chapter underscores the importance of faith over fear, reminding you—and me—of God's unwavering love and support. Whether at the dawn of a new venture or standing at a crossroads, hear how embracing hope and divine guidance can illuminate your path. Let this episode inspire you to trust in yourself and the power of Almighty God. 

Chapters

• 0:00 Navigating Change in Life's Challenges
• 13:37 Powerful Prayer for Life's Journey

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hi, everyone, welcome. Thank you for joining us today on our Positioned for Purpose Conversations with Colette Marie podcast. I'm your host, colette Marie. Yes, our podcast is for women of faith who struggle to see God in the places of pain and hardship and who need a reminder, a gentle reminder, that, right where you are, god will use you In the mess, in the hardships, in the most challenging times, in your heartaches and in your pain. God has a greater plan for your story. Romans 8. 28 states. For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to his purpose.

Speaker 1: 0:51

On today's conversation, I want to talk to us about how we navigate through times of change. I had an experience today that I thought it was something to talk about, because, as we get older, we will find that we like things to remain the way they are for much of the time, and that's because these things are predictable. Sometimes we know what to expect. Sometimes we know what to expect and when things come to change, that there are times that we don't know exactly what to do, how to navigate through this situation, and it's something that was simple. This morning, my nephews I had to take them to school. That wasn't the intention. They were to go on the bus. For me it would be a new route and I'll share a little about me.

Speaker 1: 1:54

I do not love driving, especially when I have to go on a road that I don't know in the height of traffic. It can be something that causes my heart to race. Yes, a little anxiety setting. Yes, a little worry setting. Yes, a little doubt in my abilities to get from where I am now to where I need to go and to return home, where I need to go and to return home. What surprised me about my reaction this morning is that I was not as worried as I thought I would be and I had to commend myself and say, girl, you're not bad at all, you are growing in this space, because normally you would be really in a pickle. You'd be finding a way out of this, and maybe it's because I know there was no way to get out of it why my reaction was that way, or maybe not. Let's put it down to I was growing and I am growing.

Speaker 1: 3:07

The second thing is that I would have to be going on the highway now if you, if you, if you understand me any at all, and I hope you have over these past episodes. I do not like driving on the highway, so one I do not like driving period. I do not like driving too far and my absolute and this would be maybe time for first place I do not like driving on the highway. So where I need to go today would mean that I would have to go on a portion of the highway. Oh my gosh. So each time listen, each time when I checked on the GPS and saw that I kept stopping it Every time I get to a stoplight, I restarted my journey to see if there was some way that I could avoid going on that portion of the highway. And there was no way out, I didn't feel comfortable enforcing to go on the local roads for that portion, because I know I did not want them to be late for school and I did not want there to be a reason for me to be there late or something happening and I'm not sure how to navigate any new route or anything like that. And so when I realized that I had to go on the highway, I said okay, then this is what is it. And listen, I did that three times. Three times I stopped and started the GPS just to see if I could avoid it. And I said okay. So I buckled down and I said okay, girl, this is what we're going to do.

Speaker 1: 4:54

What I noticed about myself and this is always in the self-reflection right that I was not panicking. I only said to my neighbors you know, I'm not comfortable driving in the highway, when they were saying, auntie, I think you have to go on the highway, and I say, you know, I'm not comfortable going on the highway. But I don't think they had a sense that I might have been perturbed or not. But I actually was not. So there was no, no, no, no, no. You know they would not be sensing anything like that. But of course, now it's later.

Speaker 1: 5:24

So you know, I went on the highway and I'm back home, but as I think on the journey, right, and I realized when I had to go on the highway, there are things that I'm learning about myself as well. I know we're talking about navigating change, but there are things that I'm learning about myself as well. I know we're talking about navigating change, but there are things that I learned. So I went on it and in getting off to go to where I went, I realized that I would almost miss a turn. And, dear girl, instead of panicking as I would at other times because, remember, this is a new route, I'm doing something that I would have done only once, and decided I would not have done it again, and I switched my my and I switched lane. I realized I would be going onto the greater part of the highway, which would be taking me further away from where I'm going, and once I realized that this is what the exit is and I could have missed it, I just switched my mind, my eye over into the right lane that I needed to go and found my space, and I got them to school safely.

Speaker 1: 6:27

What am I saying to us this morning? That in navigating life's challenges as they come along, there are things that are going to happen that we do not have any control over. What control we will have is how we will respond and react in that time that we have to make a decision, to make a choice on what we have to do. Sometimes we have to do it afraid, but there are some times, like what happened with me today, that I felt hope that you could actually do that, like faith that you could do this. You've already committed your way to God and he is going to guide you where you need to get to safely.

Speaker 1: 7:17

Safely and sometimes it does not always go like this. We will pray and sometimes things will happen. It doesn't mean that God wasn't there he was. The situation could have been worse, but today he took me there safely and I felt so good. I felt so good because one, I noticed that I was not panicking as I would normally do. Two, I noticed that even along the journey, whilst I stopped and started the GPS three times, I was not in. Oh my gosh, my heart was palpitating. I was racing so hard. Now did my blood pressure go up? I enjoyed getting to the journey and that was something that was so key and so important for me.

Speaker 1: 8:05

So, even when I felt like I was going to miss the turn or I could have missed the turn and just having the presence of mind to just say okay, just look at what's happening to your right and then make that move, I felt so good because in that, it tells me that not only am I growing, but I'm also understanding the importance of ensuring that I can't live in a vacuum. I can't expect that life is going to be controlled at all times? No. So navigating through different seasons of our lives will take a different turn. Sometimes it will mean that my mindset has to change. I have to understand that change is a process, that things aren't always going to look the way how I want it to look. Things will not always go the way that you want them to go either, and we have to be willing and be open to make a change. We have to be willing and open to find different solutions to the problems that we're faced with. We have to be willing and open to make a lane change, because sometimes that's what the journey will take.

Speaker 1: 9:35

So, as we are navigating life's challenges, as we are navigating life's distractions, as we are navigating life's oh my gosh, navigating life's oh my gosh, life's hardest seasons, how will we look at it? How will we say, all right, this is what is taking place. This is the lemons that we have right here. What will we do with them? Will we say, all right, I have to try, ask someone else over there to fix this problem for me. Or will I say, all right, I can slice these lemons myself, I can squeeze them myself, I can add the sugar to it myself to sweeten it?

Speaker 1: 10:21

What will your response be today? Where are you in your life's journey? What challenges are you navigating now that you're thinking you can't get over? You can't get through? What is it that you're faced with now? How can my example help you today to say you may need to go on the highway, you may need to switch lanes. What will you do? Will you continue on the straight because that's all you know, or will you be willing to make a change, with the understanding that you're going to get the same results that you wanted? It's just that something has to change Because, as I'm sitting here making this podcast episode for you and just reflecting over the morning and seeing that I actually did something that I was uncomfortable with and out of it it has produced a feeling of accomplishment. So man may be going on a new route this morning and going on the highway.

Speaker 1: 11:36

What is your journey? What is that thing that you have to do and you're scared about doing it? Can I tell you, do it afraid this morning, knowing that God is with you as you start out on that journey? Can I tell you that fear is going to lift and you will find that your faith is so, especially when you see that you're on the way and when you see that you're halfway there, when you're three quarter way there and when you're almost there, you feel it. You feel as if you can make it.

Speaker 1: 12:13

That is the journey that you are on and that God is with you, that he will be with you At every step of the way, even when you don't see him, even when you have to make a lane change and you're looking and you're seeing the oncoming traffic and you can't stop in the middle of the way. You have to proceed. You have to put that indicator light on to indicate that you're making a lane change and you have to move into that next lane. And as you move into that next lane, you see the way before you and I say thank you, lord, that you are with me. I don't even know, I didn't understand that I could have done this, but you've allowed the situation to show me that I need to make a way, I need to make changes, and that you are with me along this journey. So, as you're learning to do something new today, can I tell you that you are not alone, that God is with you. He's never left you, he's not forsaken you. He's always there, right by your side. So walk knowing that each step you take is getting you closer to where you need to go.

Speaker 1: 13:35

May I pray with you today, father.

Speaker 1: 13:37

I thank you for my sister friend.

Speaker 1: 13:39

I thank you for where she is in her journey, daddy. I pray, father, that as she takes this new road, lord, as she makes this new move, that she is reminded that, lord god, you greater you are, you that is in her than he that is in the world, because the enemy will only come with fear. Lord jesus, while you want to give her faith and hope, lord god, knowing that you are by her side at every step of the way, I pray that you will bless her today as she trusts you, as she leans not on her own understanding, but in all her ways she acknowledges you, and you will direct her path. Direct her path today as she navigates this journey called life. In your, your name, I pray with thanksgiving. Amen and amen. Have a blessed day.

Speaker 1: 14:28

My sister, my friend, if you enjoyed this week episode and found a value in it, would you consider liking subscribing on either Apple, spotify or iHeart Podcast? Share with a friend or leave a review on the show. You doing that helps to allow other persons to find this podcast and also make it be a blessing to them. Looking forward to see you next week.