Listening to God in the Midst of Change
by
Scott Stoner
I discovered
a concept called the J Curve a few years ago, and it has helped me to
understand the challenges we face when we go through significant change. In the
J Curve diagram you will see that, in the initial stage of change, we
experience decreasing stability because we have lost the stability and comfort
of what was, yet we don’t necessarily know what is ahead. All we know is that
we are experiencing some kind of falling, and this can be unsettling.
As we enter the bottom of the J Curve, it is now clear
that we are not returning to the old normal, but we don’t yet have a sense of
what a new normal might look like. As we move to the J Curve’s right side, we
begin to experience renewed energy and a sense of new possibilities.
I have come to
understand that the J Curve is also the Jesus Curve. It is the curve of loss
and rebirth, of death and resurrection. To paraphrase Psalm 23, “Yea, though I
walk through the valley of a J Curve, I will fear no evil: for thou art with
me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
When I look back over my life, it is often in and through
J Curves that my faith has deepened and grown the most. In his reflection last
Sunday, Donald Fishburne made this exact point when he wrote, regarding this
time of the pandemic, “My prayer life and spiritual life have been broadened
and deepened.”
Making
It Personal:
What J Curves have
you experienced throughout the last year?
Is there a J Curve
that you are in the midst of right now?
How has your faith helped you in these times of change?
Living
Well Through Lent 2021
Copyright
©2021 Scott Stoner.
All
rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment