Today’s theme for reinvention is the importance of faith. The Bible speaks of how even faith the size of a mustard seed can be enough for God to do mighty things. That sounds easy, but for anyone who has gone through the challenge of reinvention, especially if it was initiated outside of our control, drumming up even the smallest amount of faith can be a struggle. Here are a few brief, practical measures we can do to find our mustard seed of faith so that we can go on.
1 – Get alone and listen.
Desert crosser Steve Donahue stated, “Alone in the desert, whether it’s a real Sahara or a desert of life, we’re more likely to hear the whispers of God, our soul’s yearning, or the guidance of our own wisdom.” The keys are to be alone, away from the noise of modern life, and to shut up and listen, because God’s voice comes in a whisper.
2 – Move on.
In an earlier post I spoke of the importance of knowing that as good as the past was, it’s over and we must get on with preparing for the future. To do so, we must grab hold of our faith, small as it may be, and move forward. By doing so, we will begin to heal the hurts that may have accompanied our need for reinvention. It will take time, but as author Amy Morin stated, “Time doesn’t heal anything; it’s how we deal with that time that determines the speed at which we heal.” The point she is making is that we can either spend a long period languishing in our hurt and pain, or we can use that time to reinvent, change, and parlay our small faith into a big faith.
3 – Practice gratitude.
Morin also stated, “Instead of pitying ourselves for what we lost, we choose to feel grateful for what we had.” It’s amazing how much better we feel, react, and develop faith when we intentionally choose to be grateful for the blessings all around us. Reinvention is not always pleasant, nor is it free of challenges; however, if one is on the road to a better self, there will be evidence of God’s blessing to be grateful, for if we are willing to look for it. Merely the fact that the past is over and a brighter future lies ahead is reason enough to say “thank you” and to put our faith in the One who promises to be looking out for our best interest.
Our reinvention lesson today: A little bit of faith goes a long way.
Go reinvent yourself and lead well.