This weekend I attended The Gospel Coalition's National Women's Conference, in Orlando FL. The woman who arrived, and the woman who left... simply are not the same person.
Prior to this conference, I was in a "state of shift". My friend, Jane, coined that phrase in reference to that time period where you know that a change is going to happen, but you are not sure what it is. And, I think it's a pretty good description. If you have ever driven a manual transmission car (aka stick shift, or 5 speed) you will know shifting is the act of moving from one gear to the next. You start in first gear, shift to second, and so on.
When you drive a manual transmission car, there is a cue that it is time to shift from one gear into the next. In the past, you would watch the RPMs to know when to shift. In the more modern, smart cars, there is an indicator to let you know to shift (aka "the dummy light"). But for those of us who have been driving manual cars for a long time, we can actually feel a change in the car, it tells us that it is time to shift.
The good news is that with a car, you know where you are shifting to. The next gear. However, in life, when you start feeling that need to shift.... you are not always certain where you are shifting to.
It is exciting.
It is, also, terrifying.
The unknown.
By the end of the conference, I was no longer in a "state of shift" but instead I was in forward movement. Some very clear directions were delivered to me. I have a place to shift to. I still don't know the final destination, but that is ok. When driving a manual car, you don't shift from first gear to fifth. You have to work up through the rest of the gears first.
I have a lot to say in the coming weeks about the conference itself, so I'm leaving a bit of a cliffhanger.
But right now, I sit back in awe. Listening to the Word of God. Following His directions for today, and letting tomorrow worry about itself.
