Have you ever had the experience of jumping so quickly from the “before” to the “after”…
… from what your life was to what it is now in what feels like the blink of an eye?
I don’t really mean jumping from the “before” to the “after” of a new year – that is the rhythm of life we expect and often prepare for…
Instead, I mean the “before” to the “after” of a major life event, especially when you didn’t see that life event coming… or maybe even when you did but were still unprepared for all that was to come in the “after.”
Maybe you aren’t personally experiencing this right now, but I assure you there are people all around you who find themselves in the “after” and need a bit of empathy and compassion right now. After all, you’ve been in the “after” before – it’s a part of being human.
All around me, I know people who are battling the “after” right now as they:
- Mourn the unexpected or even expected loss of a loved one;
- Battle cancer for the first or second or third time;
- Begin to navigate a separation or a divorce;
- Deal with the loss of a job, particularly one they loved;
- Mourn the ending of a dream business due to factors outside of their control;
- Discover they can’t help someone they love no matter how much they want to;
- Get a life altering diagnosis they didn’t expect to get;
In all of these instances and more, there is a clear “before” and a clear “after”.
And to be honest…
the “after”…
it sucks.
It is so difficult to jump quickly from what you knew and who you were then to what you know now and who you are to become.
It takes time.
It takes space.
It takes empathy.
And a whole lotta faith.
So, if you are in the “after” right now, I see you. I know that in this space you are capable of choosing what your life will be, but that doesn’t make it any easier right now.
So just take one step forward and I will too, and we will get there… wherever there is going to be. But take heart as well…
… for God has so much good planned for each of us ahead.
