Finish Line: Settled & Flourishing

Crossing the finish line of re-entry will look and feel different for each individual and family. Settling is when you start finding stability in your life —of becoming accustomed to new surroundings, routines, and rhythms. Being settled involves a sense of comfort, familiarity, and security. It’s the point when things stop feeling chaotic and start feeling predictable and manageable. Being settled signifies reaching a state of stability, peace, and comfort in one's environment or situation.

Settling is the foundation for flourishing to take root. The journey to flourishing involves overcoming challenges and finding the right rhythms between internal resilience and external support. Those who succeed in flourishing often inspire others by demonstrating how change, though hard, can lead to incredible growth and transformation. It’s about finding your place, being known in your community, embracing new changes, and growing stronger with each new opportunity.

I am home.

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October Newsletter

SHANNON’S CORNER The Saga Continues… The trip to Malaysia consisted of a two-day spiritual retreat with the theme of ‘Come Away With Me’ and a six-day conference with about 230 missionaries who serve in some aspect of translating the Scriptures. One of the many people who I met was a missionary who served in Cameroon for many years and now is in a new role. As he was sharing, most his words were very negative and depressive. I encouraged him to sign up for a time of prayer and care. At the end of the retreat, this missionary shared with me that he did have a session and I could see that his whole countenance changed, and he was hopeful. His new word he used to describe where he was now is ‘delightful.’ Our time there was creating a safe space for these missionaries to have a place to share what they are struggling with and to connect with Jesus. One missionary is at a crossroads in her life. Another finds himself in the midst of betrayal. A missionary is in a new role as a caregi...

You Are Not A Role

You are not your job title. You are not your productivity. You are not only the caretaker, the leader, the helper, the strong one. Those may be things you do —beautifully, even sacrificially—but they are not the whole story of who you are. Your worth is not defined by your output. Your identity is not limited to your roles. Coaching begins when we ask: What would it look like to live from that truer self, even just a little more today?

Reactivity

Transition is like putting a complex and challenging puzzle together. Some of the pieces seem like and even look like they fit in a particular place, so you continue until you get stuck. You become frustrated and annoyed because you have spent all this time and energy into putting this section of the puzzle together and now you must find the piece that is in the wrong place. Reactivity becomes one more piece of complexity that we face in transition. It is how we manage our reactivity to know whether we are connecting or disconnecting in our relationships. Let’s discover what is reactivity. The working definition from Meriam Webster Dictionary is done in immediate response to something especially without thinking or planning. Reactivity is another core relational dynamic that can disconnect us with ourselves, with others, and with God, our Immanuel. It can become a numbing agent that blocks our connection and awareness to God’s presence within us and in our...

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